caulfield12

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

#55

"Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic writes that the A’s proposed a four-year deal to HaSeong Kim, $48MM total. It’s unclear if that would have included any opt-out opportunities, though it seems safe to assume they wouldn’t have risked a four-year commitment that allowed him to opt out after just one season. The A’s have a franchise shortstop in Jacob Wilson but are looking for second and/or third base help." mlbtraderumors.com At least it's a somewhat intriguing bargain rate offer. Kim betting here that he can earn a lot more than $28 million over the next three seasons after one year with ATL, presumably at SS.

There's no way to get anything besides the equivalent of Brayan Ramos OR Oscar Colas at their high points. #80-120 prospects at their high points. And that's likely sending along $8-10 million. Just for taking his contract on, you're lucky to get a subscription to Netflix for one year out of it. Not to mention the price to fully insure the contract on top of that, adding another $2-3...of Lloyd's of London will even take that on that kind of risk. If a compensation pick was out there in the 30s to add into the current draft pool pot, that's probably more valuable and even buys Getz more time if he takes a prep player.

Not all of them, because parts of reddit are getting blocked by the Chinese firewall AND even my VPN, so I can only see the headline was a discussion of his hitting against velocity. Which I assumed would provide useful information germane to the topic. That said...there's already a huge discrepancy between his age 20-23 numbers and his productivity over the last what is essentially 1.25 seasons. A lot of posts in general are therefore instead focusing on his WBC numbers. But that's also out of date and limited. Which finally doubles back to the one Sox scout in country making a determination. That and the fact he's still going to end up with a deal bigger than Benintendi or Grandal.

Is that really possible in roughly 2 months of NPB at bats this year? That's the equivalent of let's say just 1.5 games head to head against Matsumoto.

One social media post that went viral suggested he batted just .095 last year in NPB action against pitches of 93 MPH or higher. For context, the average fastball velocity in Major League Baseball sits around 94 MPH. https://www.reddit.com/r/baseball/comments/1ougnu9/has_anyone_else_seen_the_data_on_munetaka/&sa=U&ved=2ahUKEwjOwtWzzMORAxV2FjQIHYDdBE8QFnoECAkQAg&usg=AOvVaw0lTCrur9CejA8TYPwGUkhq

And he's anywhere from $40-80 million depending on years/including posting fees. The biggest problem there is age...you're looking at a 31 year old 1B in 2028, with significant concerns about bat speed drop offs. Ichiro and Ohtani are unicorns. There are very few examples of DH types from Japan turning out well in their 30s...Hideki Matsui I guess. Seiya Suzuki has held up pretty well so far. Yoshida with Boston is the expensive counter point.

"MLB Trade Rumors says Murakami might get an eight-year, $180 million deal. That's an AAV of $22.5 million, which the Cubs could easily afford and still stay under the first luxury tax level. Also, since Murakami was posted Nov. 7, his posting window ends at 4 p.m. Dec. 22, next Monday." Crazy amount of variance here...anywhere from $80-180 million is quite unusual, but the floor/ceiling arguments are similar. Classic boom/bust power hitter. Japanese Babe Ruth or the hitting equivalent of Hideki Irabu.

And Foster Griffin's also off the board, too. Who still needs a 1B/DH? Or can afford for him to set an errors record at 3B? Which would put even more pressure on his offense...

Just negotiating/posturing. Saying he doesn't have to go into the season with Robert, they have viable alternatives that are much cheaper to fill out the veteran-heavy roster. Also needs to address catching situation if Realmuto leaves.

You can't do a relegation approach like EPL because many of the AAA clubs have the exact same private equity ownership group. It would just end in collusion. And another aspect is some of the major league clubs also own their own minor league affiliates...although that's more in the case of A teams, some connected to their spring training facilities. So that's also a case of protecting players from injury by maintaining professional standards, too. Fantasy Leagues have their Toilet Bowl at the end of the season...would that embarrass any of the cheap owners at this point? Seperate playoffs for teams under $150 in payroll? Maybe against the best Japanese and Korean teams? But that just dilutes the WBC concept. NBA and WNBA have in season Commissioner's cup mini competitions like Knicks/Spurs tonight.

Nope...but it is really quiet on him considering less than ten days to go now. Seattle was the choice before Naylor. Would have to DH there. Suarez didn't make much of an impression. SFG are always a possibility, but they already have Eskridge. Padres might go after Okamoto, but Murakami out of their price range. LAD blocked by Muncy Freeman Ohtani. Did the White Sox even contact Okamoto's agency/representation?

Murakami would quadruple or quintuple the Sox media coverage...adding on the fawning Japanese press corps who already has their Chicago contingent due to the presence of Seiya and Imanaga on the Northside. Might as well add Okamoto or Imai too, lol.

Personality conflicts with teammates/character issues/my stats come first guy. Bregman the antithesis. Supposedly.

Feels like Getz might just be searching for an off ramp to save face. Getting back a draft pick buys him a lot more time, without having the immediate pressure of an acquisition to actually perform well and help get the Sox to 70-75. 2027 will be defined by labor unrest settled/new rules to decipher/waiting on arrival of 2026 draft pick/s That 2027-28 off season will be Getz's fifth, and only then MAYBE a competitive team.

Houser at 2/$22 demonstrates how strong the market still is for starting pitching. But don't think the Dodgers are exactly quaking in their boots over this move from Posey. Recently Valdez buzz has really fallen off and ... Now attention's focused on Murakami Okamoto and Imai due to their signing deadlines...pretty sure Imai is around January 8th.

Cleveland might have to deal Kwan because he's getting more expensive AND has a lot of value to other teams. They'd have to get at least $8-10 million back for it to make sense to them. And KC just committed $50+ million to a Maikel Garcia extension. Even they would need $5-6 million subsidy in all likelihood. Plus JR doesn't exactly love helping divisional foes...also see those opponents more often as opponents, which could end more embarrassing if he suddenly reverts back to 2023 Robert somehow.

https://www.sportsmockery.com/chicago-white-sox/intriguing-opportunity-has-developed-for-the-white-sox/

MLBTR’s Steve Adams reported yesterday that Foster Griffin has spoken to eight different teams with varying interest levels in his services, while MLBNetwork’s Jon Morosi added that a deal could come together soon for Griffin. Which team will land the intriguing lefty?

I read all the reports when he was with SD...if they really believed he was their CFer of the future and not a corner guy, they likely wouldn't have traded him, because they weren't yet sure Jackson Merrill would succeed in CF yet. During that time frame, CF play was being measure against guys like Grisham and Margot. "Zavala shows good defensive instincts and a solid-average arm in center field, though his speed likely fits best in a corner." baseballamerica.com And also concerns that he was going to continue to fill out/put on weight and that would work against his ending up in CF as well.