Reese Kaplan -- Finding Alonso Replacement Power From Japan

Over the past few decades the major leagues have become rife with top pitching talent from Japan.  What hasn’t been quite as commensurate is the number of top tier hitters crossing the Pacific.  Yes, Ichiro Suzuki was a one-of-a-kind talent who made everyone realize that the best of the best can come from the land of the rising sun, too.  However, it is interesting to notice that aside from current megastar Shoehei Ohtani tand former DH Hideki Matsui there are almost no power hitters with the same kind of pedigree.

One player whose name will appear more often over the course of the 2025/2026 off season is Japanese slugger Munetaka Murakami who is expected to be posted to make the transition from the Nippon Professional Baseball to join the American Major Leagues.  A corner infielder capable of playing both third base and first base, he makes for an interesting post Pete Alonso free agent option for the Mets to consider.

So, what kind of a hitter has Murakami been in Japan?  Well, let’s just say he’s the kind of cleanup slugger many clubs would drool to bring to their own dugouts.  Right now he has 17 HRs in his first 46 games in Japan after finishing the 2022 season with a total of 56.  That’s indeed some serious power.  In fact, since debuting as an 18 year old rookie Murakami has exceeded Pete Alonso in HRs, RBIs, SBs and batting average.

Just 25 years old, he’s eligible to be posted this season but his parent club may elect to hold onto him longer.   Given  the paucity of run production success of Japanese ballplayers it may be that his price tag is somewhat lower than you would expect for someone with that set of performance metrics. 

As a comparison, Ohtani’s first contract with the Angels ran from $545,000 as a rookie to $5.5 million in 2023.  It was then he signed his megadeal which pays him over $28 million per year from 2024 through 2033. 

Now if you consider that a two-way ballplayer like Ohtani was being paid initially like an American rookie, then you could surmise that a one-way player like Murakami would get the same or less.  However, the wild success Ohtani has had with his bat has surely inflated the value of the next major slugger to emigrate from Japan.  As such guesses regarding a price range are just that. 

Say for example that the Mets volunteered to pay Murakami $11 million per year for his first five years.  That would easily eclipse what Ohtani earned and pay him double his highest salary during his initial period in America.  That total of just $55 million plus the posting fee would make him a relative bargain even if you adjusted downward 15% on his productivity. 

The same issue regarding lefty/righty balance of power would exist with the inclusion of left handed Murakami replacing right handed Alonso.  

Another option from Japan would be the 29 year old Kazuma Okamoto who can man both corner infield positions as well as playing the outfield.  Okamoto has clubbed 273 HRs during his Japanese career while hitting .273.  As a right handed hitter he would be a more direct replacement in terms of power balance from the right side.