Pirates Miss Out on Japanese Star Kazuma Okamoto

The Pirates interest in Okamoto made sense, as they have a vacancy at third base, following them trading long-time third baseman Ke'Bryan Hayes to the Cincinnati Reds at the 2025 deadline.

Pittsburgh also needs power in their lineup, as they hit the least home runs of any MLB team last season (117), while posting the worst slugging percentage (.350) and OPS (.655).

The Pirates then received predictions they would sign Okamoto in late November, following general manager Ben Cherington saying the team was going to make more moves in the offseason.

Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic reported soon after Passan that the Pirates were still in on Okamoto.

The Pirates rumors picked up even more after Murakami surprisingly signed with the Chicago White Sox on a two-year, $34 million deal on Dec. 20.

Colin Beazley of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported that the Pirates held virtual meetings with Okamoto prior to Christmas.

Other teams then joined the Okamoto sweepstakes, with Jon Heyman of Bleacher Report naming the Arizona Diamondbacks, Boston Red Sox, Chicago Cubs, Los Angeles Angels and the Toronto Blue Jays as interested in the Japanese star.

Francys Romero reported that the San Diego Padres joined on with the Pirates and Angels in teams that were interested in Okamoto on Dec. 28.

Okamoto then made it to the United States at the end of December and started meeting with teams, ahead of his posting window ending a week prior.

The Japanese star held meeting with MLB teams in Los Angeles, with his agent Scott Boras representing him and fellow Japanese star in pitcher Tatsuya Imai. Imai signed a day prior to his posting window ending with the Houston Astros on Jan. 1 on a three-year, $54 million deal

Pittsburgh was still in the pursuit until the end, but different MLB sources put doubt on the Pirates signing Okamoto, like MLB.com's Pirates beat writer Alex Stumpf and Robert Murray of Fansided.

Mark Feinsand tweeted on Jan. 3 that despite the Pirates going after Okamoto, it was unlikely they would sign him. He also mentioned the Padres as the front runner for him.

Pirates Offseason So Far

The Pirates may not have signed Okamoto, but they have added a few pieces to their lineup for 2026.

Pittsburgh landed second baseman Brandon Lowe, a left-handed bat that hit 31 home runs in 2025, plus outfielder Jake Mangum and left-handed relief pitcher Mason Montgomery from the Tampa Bay Rays on Dec. 19.

This ended up as a three-team trade, with the Pirates sending right-handed starting pitcher Mike Burrows to the Houston Astros, who sent two top prospects to the Rays.

Pittsburgh also made another big free agent signing in Ryan O'Hearn on a two-year, $29 million contract with $1 million in incentives, based on plate appearances.

The signing of O'Hearn was the first multi-year free agent  signing since right-handed starting pitcher Iván Nova on a three-year, $27 million deal on Dec. 27, 2016. It was also the first multi-year free agent position player signing since outfielder John Jaso for two years, $8 milllion on Dec. 23, 2015, a decade prior.

Pittsburgh made another trade prior to the one for Lowe, landing top 100 propsect in outfielder Jhostynxon García from the Boston Red Sox on Dec. 4.

The Pirates also added 18-year old right-handed pitcher Jesus Travieso in the trade, while sending right-handed starting pitcher Johan Oviedo  and prospects in left-handed relief pitcher Tyler Samaniego and catcher Adonys Guzman.