Tokyo Yakult Swallows infielder Munetaka Murakami will enter the posting system on Friday, according to ESPN’s Jeff Passan.
Beginning on Saturday at 8 a.m. ET, MLB groups will have till 5 p.m. ET on Dec. 22 to succeed in a take care of the 25-year-old Murakami. If he goes unsigned, he will return to the Swallows for the 2026 season.
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Over eight seasons within the Nippon Professional Baseball league, Murakami, who performs first and third base, has hit 246 dwelling runs and pushed in 722 runs whereas batting .270. In 2022, he was the Central League’s Triple Crown winner and hit 56 homers, breaking Sadaharu Oh’s NPB single-season file by a Japanese-born participant.
The left-handed hitter was restricted to 56 video games this previous season as a result of an indirect damage, but nonetheless hit 22 homers and slashed .273/.379/.663. One concern for Murakami is his strikeout price (26%) after having fanned 977 occasions over eight seasons.
Murakami additionally represented Japan in the course of the 2023 World Baseball Classic, hitting a walk-off double in opposition to Mexico within the semifinals earlier than homering off Merrill Kelly en path to a 3rd title within the event.
Any MLB staff that finally ends up signing Murakami should pay a price to the participant’s Asian staff, which might quantity to twenty% for the primary $25 million, 17.5% for the subsequent $25 million and an extra 15% on each greenback above $50 million, per ESPN.
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Murakami is predicted to attract an MLB deal north of $100 million, incomes the Swallows a posting price of a minimum of $16.9 million.