Munetaka Murakami To Be Posted Today

[Jaypers]

https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2025/...ted-today.html

Been watching him for awhile now; he won the triple crown in 2022 (the youngest to do so) with 56 HRs (246 home runs in 892 games)

Now he's headed here. Hoping to see him in '26 Bowman, Flagship and Topps Chrome.

[hermanotarjeta]

LA bound?????

[Jaypers]

Originally Posted by hermanotarjeta

LA bound?????

They're interested in him, as are both NY teams and the Phillies, according to MLB.

[daveyc1]

I imagine he ends up on the left coast.

[JRX]

Can't see him going anywhere other than dodgers

[SethMurphy]

He's a Dodger until we hear otherwise. At this point why would a Japanese player want to go anywhere else. They've proven they can manipulate contracts at will to make sure their payroll is where they are comfortable, and don't care how much they spend to win.

And with the amount of Japanese players already on roster, it would make sense someone would want to go somewhere they can be comfortable and fit in.

My Yankees need him more than the Dodgers, but I don't see us outbidding them

[JWBlue]

Who is a comp?

[Bosoxfan5990]

Originally Posted by JWBlue

Who is a comp?

Babe Ruth

[JRX]

Originally Posted by SethMurphy

He's a Dodger until we hear otherwise. At this point why would a Japanese player want to go anywhere else. They've proven they can manipulate contracts at will to make sure their payroll is where they are comfortable, and don't care how much they spend to win.

And with the amount of Japanese players already on roster, it would make sense someone would want to go somewhere they can be comfortable and fit in.

My Yankees need him more than the Dodgers, but I don't see us outbidding them

It definitely feels like they all agreed at the last wbc to play together.

[smanzari]

Originally Posted by JWBlue

Who is a comp?

Kyle Schwarber

[JRX]

Originally Posted by smanzari

Kyle Schwarber

The knock on him right now is his k rate. Its just under 30% and there's questions if he can hit high velocity. There's not as much over there. His contact rate is 63% which would be one of the worst in the majors. So there's huge risk. He could be Joey Gallo. If they can make some tweaks he could be Schwarber. His contact rates have been getting worse. If he were to have a 70% rate in mlb like he did a few years ago, the sky is the limit.

[mfw13]

Originally Posted by JRX

Can't see him going anywhere other than dodgers

Except for the fact that he has no defensive position on the Dodgers. Freeman is the 1B, Muncy is the 3B, and Ohtani is the DH.

If he wants to play every day, the Dodgers are a horrible fit for him.

[JRX]

Originally Posted by mfw13

Except for the fact that he has no defensive position on the Dodgers. Freeman is the 1B, Muncy is the 3B, and Ohtani is the DH.

If he wants to play every day, the Dodgers are a horrible fit for him.

It doesn't matter. They'll make room, rotate guys, he also might spend time in the minors first. They can afford to pay him and have him not work out.

[JRX]

Freeman only has 2 years left, Muncy has 1. The Dodgers if they think this guy is the real deal can sign him long term with the idea that he takes over one of those spots. They basically have unlimited financial resources.

[erock28]

Originally Posted by JRX

Freeman only has 2 years left, Muncy has 1. The Dodgers if they think this guy is the real deal can sign him long term with the idea that he takes over one of those spots. They basically have unlimited financial resources.

100 percent correct. Anything other than the Dodgers would be a massive surprise. Just like Sasaki last year.

[JRX]

Originally Posted by erock28

100 percent correct. Anything other than the Dodgers would be a massive surprise. Just like Sasaki last year.

They also signed Kim and just threw him in the minors. Not that he was expected to be a superstar, but shows they'll sign players that are posted and not start them.

[Boo]

Originally Posted by mfw13

Except for the fact that he has no defensive position on the Dodgers. Freeman is the 1B, Muncy is the 3B, and Ohtani is the DH.

If he wants to play every day, the Dodgers are a horrible fit for him.

If that’s the case, the Yankees are out with stone foot Stanton.

[daveyc1]

Originally Posted by JWBlue

Who is a comp?

if his K rate is 30% in Japan, is the comp Adam Dunn?

[Boredlawyer]

If he can figure out how shorten his path to the ball, he is the far right tail Norman Gorman outcome.

If he cannot figure out how to shorten his path to the ball, he is the far left tail Norman Gorman outcome.

So, which players/organizations have proven they can fix this swing?

[erock28]

Originally Posted by Boredlawyer

If he can figure out how shorten his path to the ball, he is the far right tail Norman Gorman outcome.

If he cannot figure out how to shorten his path to the ball, he is the far left tail Norman Gorman outcome.

So, which players/organizations have proven they can fix this swing?

Nolan Gorman or Gorman Thomas?

[Boredlawyer]

Originally Posted by erock28

Nolan Gorman or Gorman Thomas?

Nice comp. Modern baseball nerds would have crucified Gorman Thomas.

[eastbayak]

He'll be joining YamamOhtaSaki in Team Japan.

[eastbayak]

Originally Posted by SethMurphy

He's a Dodger until we hear otherwise. At this point why would a Japanese player want to go anywhere else. They've proven they can manipulate contracts at will to make sure their payroll is where they are comfortable, and don't care how much they spend to win.

And with the amount of Japanese players already on roster, it would make sense someone would want to go somewhere they can be comfortable and fit in.

My Yankees need him more than the Dodgers, but I don't see us outbidding them

He's going to get paid handsomely regardless of where he goes.

In addition to being more comfortable (playing with other Japanese players), he'll be able to play with his friends from Team Japan and further the legacy (Japanese players coming to the MLB and dominating).

He wants to be part of that history. Also, the "ease" of winning championships (let's be real, Dodgers are 2 standard deviations above the rest of the league, as I said before) will also be persuasive too.

[eastbayak]

Originally Posted by mfw13

Except for the fact that he has no defensive position on the Dodgers. Freeman is the 1B, Muncy is the 3B, and Ohtani is the DH.

If he wants to play every day, the Dodgers are a horrible fit for him.

You're thinking now, they're thinking long-term future.

Muncy is probably gone after this season (believe he'll be a FA after this season unless they exercise the TO).

[JRX]

Originally Posted by eastbayak

You're thinking now, they're thinking long-term future.

Muncy is probably gone after this season (believe he'll be a FA after this season unless they exercise the TO).

Muncy is under contract for 2026 then he's an free agent. He's also 35 and has missed significant time the last 2 years. He's not going to prevent them from signing whoever they want.