Dodgers Insider Says Yankees May Be Favorites for Next Japanese Superstar Free Agent

The Roki Sasaki sweepstakes have been settled, and the next Japanese-born superstar free agent planning to enter the Major Leagues has already emerged.

One of Nippon Professional Baseball’s top sluggers, Munetaka Murakami, is projected to become available after the 2025 season. The looming question is which MLB team will land the two-time Central League Most Valuable Player.

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“If I had to pick right now, I think the Yankees would be the favorite to land him,” Dodgers Nation’s Doug McKain said on Dodgers Dougout Live. “I think that would be the No. 1 team for him right now.”

With Shohei Ohtani, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, and Roki Sasaki, the Los Angeles Dodgers have established themselves as candidates for every Japanese-born player that becomes available. However, McKain revealed Los Angeles might not be the inevitable landing spot for Murakami.

“I was talking to some Japanese NPB insiders, and they told me that he definitely would prefer to play on the West Coast, but it’s going to be West Coast teams versus one team on the East Coast, and it’s the Yankees,” McKain said.

“So he’d prefer to be on the West Coast, but he would definitely be willing to sign with the New York Yankees."

Murakami reportedly said he wants to challenge Ohtani – the unanimous 2024 NL Most Valuable Player. But it is unclear whether Murakami wants to challenge Ohtani as a teammate or as a rival, which would play a major role in his decision on where to sign.

Murakami is a two-time Central League home run leader (2021, 2022) and has recorded at least 28 home runs every season since 2019. He also boasted a career-high .711 slugging percentage in 2022, when he hit 56 home runs.

The 25-year-old third baseman and first baseman may be able to give Ohtani a run for his money at the plate. But Murakami’s base-stealing does not match up with Ohtani’s, as Murakami has not stolen more than 12 bases in a season since 2018 compared to Ohtani’s 59 this season.

Although Murakami prefers to sign with a West Coast team, the Yankees would be a good option if he wants to create a rivalry with Ohtani.

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