Yakult Swallows slugger Munetaka Murakami announced Monday that the 2025 season will be his last in Japan's Nippon Professional Baseball League. according to Yahoo! Sports Japan. Murakami signaled his intention to move to Major League Baseball, becoming the latest in a long line of Japanese stars to make the jump.
The 24-year-old Murakami made headlines around the world in 2022. . He hasn't had the same success since, posting an OPS of .875 and .851 in the following two seasons.
Unlike current sensation Roki Sasaki, Murakami is not classified as an international amateur free agent. That's because he celebrates his 25th birthday in February and has completed more than six seasons in a recognized foreign professional league. Nevertheless, Murakami will be subject to the posting system – Transfer portal – meaning the Swallows will receive a fee according to the contract he ultimately signs with one . Here's the relevant breakdown:
- Contract value less than $25 million: 20% of the contract value
- Contract worth $25 million to $50 million: $5 million plus 17.5% of the amount over $25 million
- Contract worth more than $50 million: $9.275 million plus 15% of the amount over $50 million
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Predictably, Murakami offers tremendous power from the left side. He has averaged 38 home runs over the last five seasons and has finished with fewer than 30 only once. (He scored 28 points during the pandemic-shortened 2020 season.) Murakami has also demonstrated strong on-base skills, walking more than 15% of the time last season alone. There are some drawbacks to his game. He consistently posts alarmingly high strikeout rates (over 28% in 2023, when the league average was 19.6%), and he's not a skilled defender at the hot corner, suggesting he'll end up slipping down the defensive spectrum .
It's worth noting that Murakami's strikeout rate increased again in 2024, with him punching out in 29.5% of his trips to the plate. He will likely be viewed as a first baseman by MLB teams, meaning they will place even more value on his bat-to-ball skills and how his game translates to MLB-caliber play.
