Aug 7, 2021; Yokohama, Japan; Team Japan infielder Munetaka Murakami (55) hits a solo home run against USA during the third inning in the baseball gold medal match during the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Summer Games at Yokohama Baseball Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Yukihito Taguchi-Imagn Images Yukihito Taguchi-Imagn Images

Japanese Star Munetaka Murakami May Not Fit Yankees

Originally posted on New York Yankees on SI
By Joseph Randazzo | Last updated Nov 8, 2025 9:00 AM ET

Munetaka Murakami has been posted, and with that news, the New York Yankees have a chance to regain their footing among stars from Japan coming stateside. Murakami will have a 45-day window to sign with an MLB team, which will expire just before Christmas.

Not since Masahiro Tanaka have the Yankees made an international splash. In recent years, they watched as Shohei Ohtani, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, and Roki Sasaki all joined the Dodgers, and the result has been back-to-back championships.

David Richard-Imagn Images

The Red Flags

Murakami's potential arrival in New York could snap that streak out west in Los Angeles, but one person who questions his fit with the Yankees is Gary Phillips of the Daily News. Phillips says his contact and strikeout rates are a red flag.

"And for all the pop he possesses — Murakami hit 22 home runs in 56 games this past season after being limited by an oblique injury — the 2022 NPB Triple Crown winner struck out a ton in a league with less velocity than he will face stateside," Gary Phillips writes for the Daily News. "Murakami's propensity to swing and miss at pitches in the strike zone is a particular problem. His in-zone contact rate was just 72.6% in 2025, down from 77.1% during his record-breaking 2022 season."

Rhona Wise-Imagn Images

Another issue with Murakami's fit is where he would play. The Yankees have Ryan McMahon at third, and unless things change this winter, Ben Rice is the everyday first baseman. To accommodate Murakami, he would have to be a DH or Rice would have to catch, as he did for a few weeks in the summer.

The lack of contact and propensity to whiff are similar to what they have in top prospect Spencer Jones. Both are in their mid-20s, and both come with exorbitant strikeout rates that are matched by their power.

Corey Perrine/Florida Times-Union / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Murakami's Power Game

Murakami has a 50 future value, according to Fangraphs, but his power carries that. He has 70-grade game power and 80-grade raw power, while possessing 30-grade hit, speed, and fielding tools.

Murakami's bat is legendary in the NPB, though, for all of his concerns. His 56 home runs broke Sadaharu Oh's record of 55, which was set in 1964. It's a serendipitous milestone because, across the world that year, Aaron Judge was doing the same thing with Roger Maris' own home run mark in the American League.

According to Mark Feinsand of MLB.com, the Yankees, Mets, Mariners, Phillies, Giants, and Red Sox are among the teams expected to show interest in Murakami. If the Yankees are going to make a run at the young home run king, they'll have competition with teams searching for a first baseman. The Mets might lose homegrown star Pete Alonso, and the Mariners already committed to letting Josh Naylor walk in free agency.

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