Red Sox's Reported Target Is Bad News For Triston Casas

It sounds like the Major League Baseball offseason is going to start off with a bang.

ESPN insider Jeff Passan reported that Japanese slugger Munetaka Murakami will be posted by the Yakult Swallows on Friday, meaning that his 45-day window to sign with a big league club will begin on Saturday.

"Breaking: Japanese star third baseman Munetaka Murakami will be posted today, officially starting the process of one of the most anticipated free agencies of the winter, sources tell ESPN," Passan said. "Murakami's 45-day negotiating window to come to a deal with an MLB team starts tomorrow."

What makes this stand out for the Boston Red Sox is the fact that MLB.com's Mark Feinsand said that Boston is one of the teams "expected to have interest" in Murakami, along with the New York Yankees and New York Mets, among other teams.

Will the Red Sox land the young slugger?

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

"The Yankees, Mets, Mariners, Phillies, Giants and Red Sox are among the clubs expected to have interest in Murakami, one of two Japanese sluggers expected to make the move to the Majors this winter," Feinsand reported. "Kazuma Okamoto of the Yomiuri Giants, a six-time All-Star and three-time home run champion in Japan, is also likely to be posted."

If the Red Sox end up pursuing and signing Murakami, the guy this will impact the most is Triston Casas. His role with the Red Sox is completely up in the air right now after playing in just 29 games in 2025 and 63 games in 2024. Plus, he already has one cryptic social media post under his belt this offseason.

Murakami and Casas are both 25 years old. Murakami has been playing professionally for the Swallows since 2018 and has 265 homers in 1,003 games.

Murakami, like Casas, missed significant time in 2025 and played in just 69 games, but had 24 homers. He can play first base and third base, but all of the buzz about him so far this offseason has been about him coming over to the big leagues to play first base.

With Murakami's 45-day window set to open on Saturday, that means that he will have to pick a team before the end of December. In comparison, fellow Japanese star Rōki Sasaki was posted much later last offseason and didn't pick the Los Angeles Dodgers until Jan. 22nd. Murakami is going to get the market moving much quicker than that.

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