Red Sox, Blue Jays Both In Munetaka Murakami Sweepstakes

"Murakami is of interest to teams like the Red Sox, the Mariners, the Tigers, the Phillies, the Mets, the Jays, a lot of different teams,” Morosi said on MLB Network. “The Pirates, I have been told, are connected to Murakami. If you want to sign Murakami, you only have 10 more days to do it. And so if the (Alex Bregman) market is going to continue into the new year, and if you’re thinking about Bregman or the power of Murakami...

“All the power that he’s had in the past, the 56-homer season, a really intriguing lefty bat. Yeah, there’s some swing and miss, but he’s a guy that a lot of teams like. You can’t wait forever on Bregman because Murakami is no longer a secondary option once you get past December 22.”

Murakami would be an intriguing pickup if Boston could get a deal done. Since 2018, Murakami has played in 1,003 professional games and hit 265 homers. In comparison, Alonso has played in 1,008 games since 2019 and has hit 264 homers. Now, Murakami's came over with Yakult, but that shows the type of pop that he has. Plus, he's just 25 years old, in comparison to the 31-year-old Alonso.

It would be intriguing if the Red Sox could land Murakami, but from Morosi's report, there's clearly competition for his services. The Blue Jays are the team that jumps out there as well. Toronto made it to the World Series this fall and has been the most aggressive team in baseball this offseason. The Blue Jays already have landed Dylan Cease, Cody Ponce, and Taylor Rogers, while also being connected to big-name stars, like Kyle Tucker and Bo Bichette. The Blue Jays are the team of the offseason so far, so it's not great getting into a battle with them for anyone.

If the Red Sox could retain Bregman and sign Murakami, that should be considered a success. Fortunately, there isn't much time left for Murakami, so we will find out soon where he's going. There's no way to know when Bregman will sign with a team, but there is a deadline for Murakami.