Munetaka Murakami, a 25-year-old slugger who rose through the Tokyo Yakult Swallows system and became one of Japan’s most talked-about hitters, has officially been posted to Major League Baseball.
The Swallows’ posting began on November 7, opening the standard 45-day window for MLB clubs to negotiate with the player.
Murakami’s arrival on the open market has created immediate buzz due to the blend of age, track record and prodigious power that he brings. A left-handed hitter, he broke the single-season Japanese home-run mark with 56 in 2022 and has piled up well over 200 homers in eight full NPB seasons.
Even in a 2025 campaign limited by an oblique issue, he returned to hit 22 long balls in roughly 224 plate appearances and posted an eye-catching .273/.379/.663 lines in the appearances he made.
AloJapan.com