Padres Expected to Be Interested in 30-Homer Japanese Slugger Coming to MLB: Report

Several reports out of Japan indicate Munetaka Murakami will bolt for MLB at the end of the 2025 NPB season. Perhaps the most confident analysis came from Jim Allen last November, when he wrote the slugger "is headed for MLB at the end of the 2025 season."

Japan’s Daily Sports reported last year that Murakami hired U.S.-based agent Casey Close of Excel to represent him — an unlikely step if a player did not intend to request his team post him. Most of the "reports" on Murakami since then consist of idle speculation about which MLB team will sign him this winter.

Add the San Diego Padres to the circus.

On Wednesday, Jim Bowden of The Athletic linked the Padres to the Japanese slugger.

The former Cincinnati Reds and Washington Nationals executive wrote: "Known for his prodigious power, the left-handed hitting corner infielder/outfielder has amassed 242 homers and 671 RBIs over his eight-season foreign career. He won a Triple Crown and holds the single-season Nippon Professional Baseball record for home runs (56) among Japanese-born players, which he set in 2022. He has hit at least 30 homers in five straight seasons and in six of the past seven years. His career slash line is .273/.395/.544."

"Murakami profiles as a .240 to .260 type hitter in MLB with legitimate 30-home run power," Bowden wrote. "Defensively, he’s below average at third base and adequate at first base. He’s also played some left field this season for the first time in his career. Teams such as the Yankees, Red Sox, Tigers (if they’re OK with him at third base), Mariners, Rangers and Padres should be interested in Murakami if he becomes a free agent."

Bowden ranks Murakami seventh in the 2025-26 free agent class. Only Kyle Tucker, Alex Bregman (if he opts out of his contract with the Boston Red Sox), Pete Alonso (another opt-out candidate), Kyle Schwarber, Bo Bichette and Cody Bellinger (opt-out) rank higher.

It's too soon to speculate on how much it will cost to sign Murakami, but first baseman/DH Luis Arraez (scheduled to earn $14 million this season) and pitcher Dylan Cease ($13 million) are scheduled to come off their books after this season.

Murakami has played only six games this season in NPB after battling injuries earlier in the year.

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