Mets expected to make 'big push' for Japanese star

The New York Mets already have their eyes on the next potential superstar to come from Japan.

Mar 21, 2023; Miami, Florida, USA; Japan third baseman Munetaka Murakami (55) plays his position during the sixth inning against the USA at LoanDepot Park. Mandatory Credit: Sam Navarro-Imagn Images | Sam Navarro-Imagn Images

During an August 13 live stream with Bleacher Report, MLB insider Jon Heyman noted that the New York Mets are one of the top potential free agency fits for Japanese infielder Munetaka Murakami, who is expected to be posted by his NPB team this winter.

"Number three team [for Murakami], I got the Mets. David Stearns was just seen over there, right? Mets have three third basemen right now. Are any of them the answer? I don't know... So I'm not gonna rule out the Mets. Stearns did take a trip. Is he wasting his money? I don't know," Heyman said, per an X post from B/R walk-off.

He was referring to the fact that the Mets' president of baseball operations, David Stearns, had taken a trip out to Japan in August to scout Murakami and several other top-tier Japanese players. And Murakami hit an absolute moonshot walk-off home run while he was in attendance.

Munetaka Murakami hit a walk-off home run last night and watched every second of it

The 25-year-old third baseman will be signed by an MLB team this offseasonpic.twitter.com/IgjL13DrvK

— Talkin’ Baseball (@TalkinBaseball_) August 12, 2025

Murakami is a corner infielder with a career .951 OPS and 246 home runs in eight seasons playing in NPB. He has hit at least 28 home runs in each of the last six seasons and proved he could hit off quality MLB pitching when he hit a home run off Rangers pitcher Merrill Kelly in the championship game of the 2023 World Baseball Classic.

Insider Asserts Mets Will Make "Big Push" to Sign Murakami

While Heyman's comments were nearly two months ago, he's now not alone in suggesting a potential connection between New York and Murakami. John Feinsand of MLB.com also linked the two sides in an October 10 article, where he wrote, "Nikkan Sports reported this week that the Yankees, Mets, Phillies and Mariners are among the teams that could make a big push for Murakami, who hit 22 home runs with 47 RBIs and a 1.043 OPS in 56 games during an injury-shortened 2025 campaign.

"The Mets could face the loss of Pete Alonso, who is opting out of his contract," Feinsand added.

Mar 21, 2023; Miami, Florida, USA; Japan third baseman Munetaka Murakami (55) hits a home run against the USA in the second inning at LoanDepot Park. Mandatory Credit: Rhona Wise-Imagn Images | Rhona Wise-Imagn Images

Feinsand seems to be suggesting that the only way the Mets make sense for Murakami is if Pete Alonso ends up signing elsewhere. However, there's a lot of uncertainty about what Murakami's market might be, which could mean that New York would have enough to re-sign Alonso and bring Murakami on board, so long as they were able to offload some salary elsewhere.

Read more: Mets might trade Brandon Nimmo to make room for free agent All-Star

Regardless, Mets fans will want to keep an eye on any updates regarding the Munetaka Murakami sweepstakes, which should be picking up steam soon.