Inside The Mets

Could Mets swipe Munetaka Murakami from Yankees, Dodgers next year?

The New York Mets might be in play for Japan's next superstar who's expected to come to MLB in 2026.
Grant Young|
Mar 21, 2023; Miami, Florida, USA; Japan third baseman Munetaka Murakami (55) looks on after hitting a home run during the second inning against USA at LoanDepot Park. Mandatory Credit: Sam Navarro-Imagn Images
Mar 21, 2023; Miami, Florida, USA; Japan third baseman Munetaka Murakami (55) looks on after hitting a home run during the second inning against USA at LoanDepot Park. Mandatory Credit: Sam Navarro-Imagn Images | Sam Navarro-Imagn Images

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New York MetsNew York YankeesLos Angeles Dodgers

Ever since signing elite starting pitcher Kodai Senga in December 2022, the New York Mets have struck out in attracting baseball's best Japanese players to their franchise.

Then again, so have 28 other MLB teams, as the Los Angeles Dodgers have signed the three biggest names (Roki Sasaki, Yoshinobu Mamamoto, and Shohei Ohtani) to come from Japan in recent years (although they signed Ohtani from the Los Angeles Angels, of course.)

However, there's a Japanese power hitter named Munetaka Murakami that's expected to come to the MLB for the 2026 season that the Mets might have a solid shot at signing.

Read more: Insider gets candid about Mets' Dylan Cease trade potential

Murakami is 25 years old and plays for the Tokyo Yakult Swallows of Nippon Professional Baseball. In his seven NPB seasons, Murakami has hit .270 with a .945 OPS and 224 home runs (an average of 32 per season).

In the championship game of the 2023 World Baseball Classic between Team Japan and Team USA, Murakami hit a first-pitch home run off Arizona Diamondbacks pitcher Merrill Kelly in the bottom of the second inning.

In a March 6 episode of the Dodgers Nation podcast, host Doug McKain said of Murakami's eventual MLB destination, "It's going to be West Coast teams versus one team on the East Coast, and it's the Yankees...he would definitely be willing to sign with the Yankees."

While McKain didn't cite the Mets specifically, the Dodgers' recent Japanese signees have reportedly conveyed a preference to play on the West Coast. If Murakami is open to playing for the Yankees, this could mean he doesn't necessarily share this California preference.

Perhaps this opens the door for the Mets to swoop in and make an offer that Murakami can't refuse.

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Grant Young
GRANT YOUNG

Grant Young covers the New York Mets and Women’s Basketball for Sports Illustrated’s ‘On SI’ sites. He holds an MFA degree in creative writing from the University of San Francisco, where he also played Division 1 baseball for five years. He believes Mark Teixeira should have been a first ballot MLB Hall of Fame inductee.

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