"Many Blue Jays fans are still reeling at the thought of Bo Bichette on the New York Mets and Kyle Tucker spurning Toronto for a familiar foe in the Los Angeles Dodgers. Kazuma Okamoto , otherwise known as "The Young General", was not an expected offseason signing, yet he provides the exact offensive profile that fits the Blue Jays ' mould that could take away the sting of Bichette and Tucker signing elsewhere."
"Playing the majority of his career in the Nippon Professional Baseball League at first/third base, he is most likely to patrol the hot corner across from Vladimir Guerrero Jr., who will be holding down the first base position for the foreseeable future. Okamoto is an average defensive infielder, grading 40/80 per Fangraphs. With third base having some question marks heading into 2026 and a magnificent defensive pairing of Ernie Clement and Andres Gimenez up the middle,"
"Named captain of the Yomiuri Giants back in 2023, has hit for consistent average and power, posting a .274 batting average with 277 home runs across 11 seasons in Japan. For many superstar position players hailing from the NPB, the question remains: can they hit velocity? Success in other leagues doesn't translate to immediate success in the big leagues. For example, Yoshi Tsutsugo hit .278 with a .899 OPS in the NPB across 12 seasons,"
Kazuma Okamoto arrives with 11 seasons of NPB experience, a .274 average and 277 home runs, and leadership as a former Yomiuri Giants captain. He primarily played first and third base and projects to play third base opposite Vladimir Guerrero Jr. Okamoto grades 40/80 defensively per Fangraphs and could compete for a full-time role due to uncertainty at third base. He has shown ability to hit high-velocity pitching, with highlight homers off established pitchers and peers, providing reason to believe his offensive skills can translate to MLB success despite past examples of mixed NPB-to-MLB outcomes.
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