Japanese Players in MLB 2026: Murakami, Okamoto, Imai and Who’s Next

Three of Japan’s biggest bats and arms left NPB in the same offseason, and five months into their MLB careers the results could hardly be more different. Munetaka Murakami is hitting baseballs into orbit for a first-place White Sox team, Kazuma Okamoto has already rewritten a Blue Jays record, and Tatsuya Imai has been pushed out of Houston’s starting rotation — and another wave of NPB stars is lining up behind them this winter.

Key Takeaways

• Munetaka Murakami, Kazuma Okamoto and Tatsuya Imai were all posted to MLB in the 2025-26 offseason, signing for a combined $148 million.
• Murakami homered in each of his first three MLB games — something only Trevor Story (2016) and Kyle Lewis (2019) had ever done. Through Aug. 25 he is at .223 with 29 home runs and an .871 OPS.
• Okamoto has broken Toronto’s single-season rookie home run record and sits on 26, but the Blue Jays are 64-68 and fourth in the AL East.
• Imai was moved to the bullpen Aug. 1 after failing to complete five innings in eight of his 15 starts.
• Up next: Seibu right-hander Kona Takahashi is now an unrestricted international free agent, while Hanshin’s Teruaki Sato — a Triple Crown contender — and Hiroto Saiki still need their club’s permission to leave.

Japan’s 2026 MLB Class: The Contracts

All three players moved through the posting system, NPB’s controlled release mechanism for players who have not yet earned free agency.

Player	From	To	Contract	Position
Munetaka Murakami	Tokyo Yakult Swallows	Chicago White Sox	2 years, $34 million	Infielder
Kazuma Okamoto	Yomiuri Giants	Toronto Blue Jays	4 years, $60 million	Infielder
Tatsuya Imai	Saitama Seibu Lions	Houston Astros	3 years, $54 million	Pitcher

And where they stand through Aug. 25:

Player	2026 line	Status
Munetaka Murakami	96 G, .223, 29 HR, 58 RBI, .871 OPS	Middle-of-the-order bat on a division leader
Kazuma Okamoto	127 G, .230, 26 HR, 74 RBI, .741 OPS	Holds the Blue Jays’ rookie home run record
Tatsuya Imai	18 G (15 starts), 6-4, 5.32 ERA	Moved to the bullpen in August

Munetaka Murakami: Elite Power, Extreme Profile

Murakami, a left-handed slugger born in February 2000 in Kumamoto, was Yakult’s first-round pick out of Kyushu Gakuin High School in 2017. He hit 246 home runs over eight seasons with the Tokyo Yakult Swallows (Central League, based in Tokyo), batting .273 across more than 1,000 games.

The résumé is the best a Japanese hitter has assembled in a decade. He won Central League Rookie of the Year at 19, then took back-to-back league MVP awards in 2021 and 2022. The 2022 season was the outlier: .318 with 56 home runs and 134 RBIs, making him, at 22, the youngest Triple Crown winner in NPB history. Those 56 home runs remain the single-season record for a Japanese-born player — the outright NPB record is Wladimir Balentien’s 60 in 2013 — and broke Sadaharu Oh’s 55 from 1964.

He was a central bat on the Japan team that won the 2023 World Baseball Classic. His final NPB season, in 2025, was cut to 56 games by injury, though he still posted 22 home runs and a 1.043 OPS.

Why he signed a two-year deal

Murakami was projected to command something in the range of eight years and $180 million. He signed for two years and $34 million with the White Sox instead, taking No. 5 and pulling a white sock out at his introductory news conference to the delight of the room. The logic is straightforward: prove he can handle MLB pitching over two seasons, then re-enter free agency and cash in properly.

So far the bet is paying off. He homered in each of his first three MLB games during opening weekend against the Milwaukee Brewers — a feat only Story and Lewis had managed before, and one Cleveland rookie Chase DeLauter matched in the same week. Through Aug. 25 he is hitting .223 with 29 home runs, 58 RBIs and an .871 OPS. The batting average is ugly; the power has translated completely. He also played for Japan at the 2026 World Baseball Classic in March.

The White Sox were a rebuilding club when he signed. They are 68-63 and leading the AL Central through Aug. 25. The original pitch — a place where he would get everyday at-bats while he adjusted — has turned into something better than that.

Kazuma Okamoto: A Franchise Rookie Record on a Team Going Nowhere

Okamoto, a right-handed hitter born in June 1996 in Nara, hit 73 home runs at Chiben Gakuen High School and went to the Yomiuri Giants (Central League, based in Tokyo, and the most storied franchise in Japan) as a first-round pick in 2014. He broke out in his fourth season, hitting .309 with 33 home runs and 100 RBIs in 2018, and became the Giants’ permanent No. 4 hitter. He cleared 30 home runs in six straight seasons from 2018 through 2023, winning three home run titles and two RBI crowns.

He homered in the 2023 WBC final against the United States. His last NPB season was shortened to 69 games by a torn ligament in his left elbow, but he hit .327 with 15 home runs and a 1.014 OPS in that time.

Toronto signed him for four years and $60 million, and he wears No. 7. “I am very happy to join the Blue Jays,” he said at his introductory press conference. “I will work hard every day and do my best for the team.” Asked why he picked Toronto, he pointed to the city and the roster — and to his daughter. “I put all 30 logos in front of my daughter and said, ‘Which one do you like the most?'” he said. “She pointed at the Blue Jays.”

Where Murakami got two years, Okamoto got four, and the reason is contact. General manager Ross Atkins was explicit about it. “The offensive ability is as dynamic as it comes and fits us very well,” Atkins said. “The contact ability against high velo and against all types of pitching — really any type of pitching — he’s been able to drive the ball, which is about as good a compliment as we could ask for.”

Through Aug. 25 he is at .230 with 26 home runs, 74 RBIs and a .741 OPS in 127 games. The batting average has not followed him across the Pacific. The power has: he broke the Blue Jays’ single-season rookie home run record in July and has kept extending it, including his 26th on Aug. 20 against the Tampa Bay Rays. Thirty is within reach. Like Murakami, he played for Japan at the 2026 WBC.

The team around him has been the problem. Toronto pushed the Los Angeles Dodgers to a seventh game in the 2025 World Series, then spent roughly $337 million last offseason — including seven years and $210 million on Dylan Cease — and entered 2026 as a favorite. Through Aug. 25 the Blue Jays are 64-68 and fourth in the AL East. With a month left, the weight on Okamoto’s bat only grows.

Tatsuya Imai: A Rough First Year and a Trip to the Bullpen

Imai, a right-hander born in May 1998 in Tochigi, was the winning pitcher in the 2016 summer Koshien final for Sakushin Gakuin High School and went to the Saitama Seibu Lions (Pacific League, based just outside Tokyo) as a first-round pick that year. He cracked an opening-day rotation for the first time in 2019 and won at least 10 games in three straight seasons beginning in 2023. He led the Pacific League with 187 strikeouts in 2024 and made three NPB All-Star teams.

His final NPB season was his best: 10-5 with a 1.92 ERA and 178 strikeouts in 163 2/3 innings, plus a combined no-hitter with Kaima Taira in April.

Projections ran as high as six years and $150 million. He signed with Houston for three years and $54 million, with two features worth noting: opt-outs after both the 2026 and 2027 seasons, and a clause barring the club from sending him to the minors without his consent.

The first year has not gone well. He landed on the injured list in April with fatigue in his throwing arm, and his command never settled after he returned — he failed to get through five innings in eight of his 15 starts. On Aug. 1, manager Joe Espada said Imai was moving to the bullpen. Through Aug. 25 he is 6-4 with a 5.32 ERA, 83 strikeouts and 67 2/3 innings across 18 appearances.

The numbers have improved in relief, but exercising that opt-out after this season is not a realistic option. The question is whether he can win a rotation spot back for 2027.

Houston, which won the World Series in 2017 and 2022 and plays at Daikin Park, is 65-66 and second in the AL West behind the Texas Rangers through Aug. 25. Imai is the fourth Japanese player to wear the uniform, after Kazuo Matsui, Norichika Aoki and Yusei Kikuchi.

Who’s Next? Three NPB Stars to Watch This Offseason

Kona Takahashi (Seibu Lions): Now an Unrestricted Free Agent

Takahashi, a right-hander born in February 1997 in Gunma, went to Seibu as a first-round pick out of Maebashi Ikuei High School in 2014 and debuted at 18. He is 6-foot-3 and pitches downhill with power.

He tried to reach MLB alongside Imai last offseason, but the offers did not meet his terms and he pulled back, re-signing with Seibu on a multiyear deal that included an opt-out. Then, on May 10, 2026, he met the service-time threshold for international free agency.

His first season back has been arguably his best: 8-5 with a 2.35 ERA and 94 strikeouts in 118 2/3 innings over 18 appearances through Aug. 25, with his ERA down sharply from 3.04 the year before.

That makes this winter far more favorable than the last one. As an international free agent he needs no permission from Seibu, and any MLB club that signs him owes no release fee — which usually translates into a better deal for the player.

Teruaki Sato (Hanshin Tigers): Chasing a Triple Crown, Waiting on Permission

Sato, a left-handed slugger born in March 1999 in Hyogo, was Hanshin’s first-round pick out of Kindai University in 2020. The Tigers (Central League, based in the Osaka area, and the most passionately followed team in Japan) waited years for his bat to stabilize. It arrived in 2025: .277 with 40 home runs and 102 RBIs in 139 games, the first 40-homer season by a homegrown Tiger since Masayuki Kakefu in 1985. He won the home run and RBI titles, took a Golden Glove and was named Central League MVP.

He has been better in 2026. Through Aug. 24 he is hitting .318 with 30 home runs and 82 RBIs in 111 games, leading the league in average and RBIs and trailing only teammate Shota Morishita (31) in home runs. A Triple Crown — the first since Murakami’s in 2022 — is genuinely in play.

Sato has said openly that he wants to play in MLB, and he asked Hanshin to post him during last offseason’s contract talks. The club would not commit. He hired Sean Nowak, an agent with MLB experience, and signed for an estimated 450 million yen (about $2.9 million) plus incentives, with negotiations dragging almost to the start of spring camp.

He cannot reach international free agency until 2029 at the earliest, so any move before then requires Hanshin’s approval. The club has stayed noncommittal, weighing its parent company’s position, its fan base and what it has invested in developing him. A 27-year-old putting up Triple Crown numbers is the single most interesting personnel question in Japanese baseball this winter.

Hiroto Saiki (Hanshin Tigers): Twice Denied

Saiki, a right-hander born in November 1998 in Hyogo, was a third-round pick out of Suma Shofu High School in 2016. He pairs a fastball that touches 99 mph with a forkball, and won the 2025 ERA title at 12-6 with a 1.55 mark in 24 appearances.

He has stayed consistent in 2026: 7-5 with a 2.76 ERA and 150 strikeouts in 124 innings over 20 appearances through Aug. 25. He asked Hanshin to post him after both the 2024 and 2025 seasons. He was turned down both times.

His desire has not changed, but Sato is now a complicating factor. A club reluctant to lose the anchors of both its lineup and its rotation in one winter may approve only one of them — if either.

How Japanese Players Reach MLB

There are two routes out of NPB, and they work very differently.

The Posting System

Posting, introduced in 1998, lets an NPB player without international free agency move to MLB — but only with his club’s approval. Ichiro Suzuki, Daisuke Matsuzaka, Yu Darvish, Shohei Ohtani and Yoshinobu Yamamoto all came over this way, as did Murakami, Okamoto and Imai.

The mechanics: the player asks his club to post him, the club approves, NPB notifies MLB, and the player is announced to all 30 clubs. Negotiations open the following day and run 45 days. If no contract is signed in that window, the player stays in Japan. The posting window itself runs from Nov. 1 to Dec. 15 each year.

When a deal is struck, the MLB club pays the NPB club a release fee on a sliding scale:

Portion of contract value	Release fee
First $25 million	20%
$25 million to $50 million	17.5%
Above $50 million	15%

The signing club also pays 15% of any bonuses the player earns during the contract.

Two constraints matter. First, club approval is mandatory — Saiki has been denied twice, and Sato finished his contract talks without a commitment. Second, failing to sign within the 45-day window means staying put, which is exactly what happened to Takahashi last offseason.

There is also the “under-25 rule.” A player younger than 25 with fewer than six professional seasons can only sign a minor league contract, with his bonus severely capped. That rule applied when Ohtani signed with the Angels.

International Free Agency

The other route is international free agency, earned after nine seasons of first-team service — a season counts as 145 days on the roster. A player who reaches it can negotiate with all 30 MLB clubs without his club’s consent.

That freedom is the whole point. The trade-off runs the other way for the NPB club, which collects nothing when a player leaves as a free agent. That is why clubs often approve a posting one or two years before a player qualifies: a release fee beats losing him for nothing.

The catch for players is the wait. A high school draftee typically qualifies at 27 at the earliest, a college draftee closer to 31 — potentially past his peak. That math is why more players are pushing for a posting instead.

Takahashi shows the third path: a failed posting, then free agency the next year. No approval needed, no release fee owed, and far more leverage.

What to Watch This Offseason

Five months in, the 2026 class has already produced two record-book entries — Murakami’s home runs in each of his first three games, Okamoto’s Blue Jays rookie mark — and one clear reminder, in Imai, of how unforgiving the jump can be.

The winter ahead may be busier. Takahashi is a free agent with no strings attached, Sato is chasing a Triple Crown while waiting on a club that has not said yes, and Saiki is asking for a third time. Three answers are coming, and at least one of them will reshape a pennant race on both sides of the Pacific.