"Japanese star Munetaka Murakami was posted by his team in Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB), Tokyo Yakult Swallows, ESPN reported Friday. The 25-year-old will have 45 days to sign with an MLB team, giving him a Dec. 22 deadline. Murakami has been listed by many analysts as one of the top free-agent hitters this offseason, mostly playing third base. The left-handed hitter also has experience playing first base,"
"He's considered to be the "Japanese Babe Ruth." As a hitter and a pitcher, Shohei Ohtani might be doing things that no MLB player has done since Babe Ruth. But Murakami is the Japanese star who has earned himself the nickname "Japanese Babe Ruth" because of his power at the plate. Murakami broke the NPB's long-standing single-season home run record in 2022, hitting 56 home runs that year. The record was previously 55, which was set by Sadaharu Oh in 1964."
Munetaka Murakami has been posted by Tokyo Yakult Swallows and will have 45 days to sign with an MLB team, with a Dec. 22 deadline. He is a 25-year-old left-handed power hitter primarily at third base who also has experience at first base. Murakami set the NPB single-season home run record in 2022 with 56 homers and has recorded at least 30 home runs in multiple full seasons, including 33 in 2024. He has elite power production but notable strikeout rates and missed significant time in 2025 due to an oblique injury while still hitting 22 homers in 56 games.
Read at Boston.com
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