caulfield12

What happens with Robert (and eventually Benintendi) should tell us a lot...

Sponsorships/promotions/t.v. advertising rates falloff as well.... You also have to account for Dominican academy costs. Brewers reportedly spent $20-30 million there, for example. We don't have any reason to believe Ishbia would write a check to completely bail JR out of a $130-150 million debt. It's probably spread pretty evenly with the Reinsdorf family, Ishbia and 10-15% remaining minority shateholders. https://www.mlb.com/news/munetaka-murakami-deadline-to-sign-with-mlb-club-is-december-22 Sox not listed as an option here. DBacks added.

https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2025/12/giants-designate-joey-wiemer-for-assignment.html Joey Wiemer instead of NPB stars lol?

https://www.mlb.com/news/munetaka-murakami-mlb-star-potential-analysis

https://www.youtube.com/watch%3Fv%3DiiRRNlzXYuM&sa=U&ved=2ahUKEwihkIjI_sWRAxU_kmoFHZvhBsgQFnoECBEQAQ&usg=AOvVaw13w_67O5GSLvRqS0HvQV_g It's all about scouting and making adjustments coming over from NPB. Do you trust your people or not? We can compare offensive profiles...but still apples and oranges when you look at the mostly offspeed/high spin rate diets over in Japan vs. the US. "Murakami's walk-off double His hardest-hit ball tracked in the tournament was a 115.1 mph home run off Merrill Kelly in Japan's win over the U.S. in the championship game. This year in MLB, only 19 players hit a home run 115 mph or harder."

"Teams that are willing to take on more risk and bet on the big upside may wind up having more interest in Murakami, while scouts view Okamoto as a more polished hitter who has a little bit more defensive versatility than Murakami. Okamoto could be targeted more by win-now teams that are looking for a higher-floor player. One evaluator believes Okamoto may out-hit Murakami during their first two or three years in the Majors, but assuming he signs a long-term deal, Murakami will have time to work out the kinks in his swing and become a very productive player." mlb.com Conclusion: Sox pretty much have to roll the dice on players that can be stars versus just very good/solid pros. Wasting first two years of Okamoto doesn't make sense at age 30-31. Murakami Robert, Jr. Braden Montgomery Schultz H.Smith Cholowsky 2026 #2 pick (CF/SS) To hopefully go along with Teel/Colson...Carlson has way too many unknowns at this point.

You're going to draw the Ire of He Who Shall Not be Named.

https://risingapple.com/ny-mets-kazuma-okamoto-contract-prediction-aligns-one-exception 4/$64 million for Okamoto? He can actually play 3B well. Big differentiator. Higher offensive floor than Murakami. Biggest problem is he will be turning 32-33 in 2028/29 competitive window years. Seems a number of teams are hesitating on that fourth year. Basically Murakami the sizzle, Okamoto the steak. "FanGraphs' international scouting page lists Okamoto as having an average hit tool (50-grade) and above-average raw and in-game power. Murakami, by comparison, has a well-below-average hit tool (30-grade), but elite raw power (80) and high-end in-game power (70). Given that Okamoto is more than three years older than Murakami, he is unlikely to command a significant investment in terms of the length of his contract. It's an appealing package for teams that might be concerned about the long-term viability of free agents like Pete Alonso or Kyle Schwarber, who could reasonably expect to receive deals worth at least $100 million." https://bleacherreport.com/articles/25305984-who-will-sign-kazuma-okamoto-latest-top-mlb-landing-spots-and-contract-projections

December 17th: The Cards officially announced May’s signing today. May will make $12.5MM in 2026 and the mutual option is worth $20MM, per Passan. It’s a $12MM salary and a $500K buyout on the option, per Jeff Jones of the Belleville News-Democrat. mlbtraderumors.com

Even with the Colts ND Purdue?

NW Indiana?

Can afford not equal to will spend. Otherwise, Cincy would have Schwarber and the Pirates would actually have a legit middle of the order bat to go with that pitching. "Cincy GM Nick Krall refuted that narrative. Deferred money was part of the effort to get Schwarber. “I never said we were going to extend [payroll]," Krall said. "I’ve always told you guys that where our payroll was … we were trying to figure out how to be creative to get him to fit in. We were trying to be creative in year one to figure out how to continue to get him.” mlb.com The problem here is that the main strategy behind Schwarber was a theoretical attendance bump for the hometown hero. The only player in this market Cincy believed could have that type of impact. And still short $25-30 million in the end.

Sox can only afford Takahashi. Maybe.

Dustin May terms still unannounced? Long time for that physical.

He actually likes the White Sox. Kind of the anti-Keith Law.

Initial projection: 5 years, $80 million Schoenfield is out of his mind. Adding the Angels, too? The first part of the blurb talks about him not being a good fit at 3B defensively, but then that's okay for him to play there in Chicago? Ishbia in charge...sure, big splashy move. Imai to the Giants and Tucker to Blue Jays doesn't seem so off. When does TOR become Evil Empire 1A? Maybe local media will be forced to wake up and ask Getz why not lol?

https://www.yahoo.com/sports/articles/mlb-offseason-panic-meter-mets-234915570.html Reds Pirates Astros and Tigers are coming under fire along with the usual big name teams. Tigers/Mets/Red Sox all desperately need Bregman. Dodgers Mariners Blue Jays pretty much the only fanbases not freaking out. Milwaukee is Milwaukee. St.Louis and Twins fans have pretty much given up. Padres' fans are close behind. Kyle Tucker market all the way down from $500 to $300 million. That's newsworthy.

That was against only the Rockies. Intl. marketing has changed dramatically since then. Ofc now the two most hopeless franchises over the last three seasons...one decade later. The Mets and Yankees both need to make big splashes to respond to Blue Jays/Dodgers/Phillies/Balt.

Imai is #2 on the pitching market and even ahead of Valdez on some boards and nobody has a clue where he's going right now. Except NOT the Dodgers.

Not sure anyone is going to bet on the White Sox against that field of potential landing spots listed. But some hope is better than none at all. Would be biggest shocker of off season. Hard to believe Ricketts would sign him...but Cubs' have been quieter than a church mouse recently. TEAM ODDS EQUIVALENT PROBABILITY New York Yankees +350 22.2% New York Mets +400 20% Philadelphia Phillies +500 16.7% Seattle Mariners +700 12.5% Los Angeles Dodgers +700 12.5% San Francisco Giants +1000 9.1% Boston Red Sox +1200 7.7% The Field +650 13.3%

https://rumbunter.com/pirates-recent-free-agent-connection-would-be-a-massive-offensive-risk-murakami Pirates also have shown interest. This article argues against. Japanese FA's have all been quite quiet throughout this process....think it's partially a cultural thing. Probably know the least about Imai, who will receive somewhere between $150-$225 million. It was unusual when Roki Sasaki actually listed a final three near the end and visited each team and also asked for detailed plans for bringing back his FB life. Padres have also been linked to Okamoto fwiw.

“He has legit power,” said one scout who has watched Murakami multiple times. “It should translate to the Majors.” 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." https://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/article/munetaka-murakami-signing-soon-free-agency-flurry--examining-world-baseball-classic-usa-and-dr-rosters-201903999.html&sa=U&ved=2ahUKEwjMu5HY9sSRAxWfmSYFHaFiNuEQFnoECAMQAg&usg=AOvVaw1gsAT7ddoY6fsYmFip17gP Red Sox seem to be prioritizing Bregman...Boras will draw it out with Tigers, Astros, etc. Already have Yoshida on books. Phillies can probably cross him off the list after Schwarber, still need to deal with Realmuto, maybe CF and are likely losing a SP. https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/mlb/2025/12/15/munetaka-murakami-deadline-best-fits-mlb/87775832007/ This article adds the Cubs and Blue Jays. Yankees Mets Mariners Giants...one of those six teams that doesn't get Bregman/Bellinger. Giants, just feels off based on their actions so far this winter. That said, Posey seems to want to make a splash. Mixed results with Korean CF Lee. So that list constitutes pretty much every large market team that could afford a $80-140 million dollar deal to just blow up spectacularly except the Dodgers. You also wonder if he might want to pair up with Imai somewhere...and which teams will sit out Monday deadline to play chicken with Boras at the end.

When international players are posted for MLB teams, they’re given a limited window during which to sign. That window lasts 30 days for players coming over from the KBO, while NPB players have 45 days. Two such players are having their windows draw to a close in the next few days: KBO infielder Sung Mun Song, who will need to sign by December 21 at 4pm CT, and NPB slugger Munetaka Murakami, who will need to sign by December 22 at 4pm CT. Murakami is by far the more well-known player, heralded for his youth and prodigious power despite concerns about his contact ability. He should land a healthy multi-year deal in free agency, though his camp has kept things very quiet to this point. Song hasn’t garnered as much fanfare but is coming off a pair of terrific seasons, wherein he combined to his .327/.397/.524 with a 10.5% walk rate and just a 14.3% strikeout rate. mlbtraderumors.com

You forgot his nickname, the Babe Ruth of Higo/Japan. https://bleacherreport.com/articles/25259728-munetaka-murakami-babe-ruth-higo-really-worth-hype Only one other player has held that nickname previously, https://www.britannica.com/biography/Sadaharu-Oh

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