Don’t we already have a third baseman who’s making $35M next year? Why do we need another? 😂
This is a generalization, and admittedly unscientific with plenty of caveats and exceptions… but NBP players “generally” seem to lose 30 to 40 points of BA when they come to the States. Ohtani did, Matsui did… even Ichiro did. That would make Okamoto a .230-.270 hitter (with the .270 being a real outlier, as he only hit .300 twice in eight seasons and one of those was injury-shortened) in MLB if the pattern holds.
And his defense at 3B is supposedly mediocre?
The other guy, Murakami, seems like a more solid bet. More expensive, too, it seems.
Yorke has a piece on him that will publish on Friday.
I had mentioned this guy back a week or so ago. I think price, projected ability and team needs wise he seems a good fit. BUT, who else will be giving him attention, maybe a bottomless wallet team willing to overspend?
Thing is, is he REALLY a bigger risk than a 34 year old Suarez or Bregman wanting a six year deal for 250M? After that our options are…. Moncada. I know there’s a good chance Okamoto is really just another way of saying Callaspo once he’s downgraded by the MLB pitching. But if he can stick at third and he even hits like diet Suzuki he’d be a great pick up for us even if we spent say 5/120 on him.
Nice work, Yorke. Your writing skills are ahead of the curve and your baseball knowledge is picking up.
This signing all depends on cost. 29 years old, .277 lifetime BA, avg fielder, elbow issues, it comes down to how much.
Angels Third Base Option – Kazuma Okamoto
Every offseason, there’s one player who doesn’t make a ton of noise but could completely reshape a lineup. For the Angels, that player might just be Kazuma Okamoto.
The 29-year-old slugger from the Yomiuri Giants doesn’t have the flash of some of his countrymen . No viral highlight reels or record-breaking posting announcements yet, but what he does have is production. Real, sustained, year-after-year power. According to Baseball Reference, Okamoto owns a career .277 batting average, .361 on-base percentage, and .521 slugging percentage in Japan’s NPB. That’s over a decade of solid contact, disciplined at-bats, and more than 200 home runs. He’s the kind of hitter who doesn’t just drive in runs he wears down pitchers.
Our lineup has often leaned heavily to one side, either too many righties or stretches where the offense lives and dies by one or two bats. Okamoto could change that rhythm. His right-handed swing is compact and repeatable, the kind that punishes mistakes but doesn’t rely on brute strength alone. While Murakami draws attention for raw, youthful thunder, Okamoto’s game feels seasoned. He’s learned how to adjust mid-count, how to attack velocity and how to find gaps when the ball isn’t carrying. You don’t hit 40-plus homers in NPB without knowing how to control your barrel.
If we bring Okamoto aboard, we wouldn’t just be adding a third baseman we’d be bringing in a stabilizer. Someone who doesn’t need to chase home runs to make an impact. Picture him hitting behind Trout or Ward, cleaning up traffic and forcing pitchers to pitch to our core instead of around it.
Of course, there are question marks. Okamoto recently battled an elbow issue and any transition from NPB to MLB brings an adjustment period. But stylistically, he feels like the kind of hitter who could adapt faster than most. Less dependent on guesswork, more reliant on approach.
Kazuma Okamoto won’t be the loudest name in this winter’s rumor mill, but he might be one of the smartest bets. He represents reliability, maturity, and power that travels. He may not light up every headline, but if he lands in Anaheim, he might just anchor the lineup in a way fans haven’t seen in years.