Insider: 7 Teams Interested in Murakami—“The Next Kyle Schwarber”

This coming Monday at 5pm Eastern is the posting window deadline for intriguing Japanese slugger Munetaka Murakami. He must have a major league deal by then, or he’ll be heading back to Japan for 2026.

Murakami, 25, has been called "The Next Kyle Schwarber" — potentially — by Will Sammon in The Athletic. With massive power (he has a 56-home run season on his resume), and probably best suited as a DH (though he does play third and first), Murakami would be a big power boost for any lineup.

What makes his availability so fascinating, writes Sammon, is the question of whether he will take a short-term deal to prove his power will translate to the major leagues. "If so, might teams later regret not going long-term on him now?"

Murakami has averaged almost 47 HR per full season since 2022

Murakami averaged 37 home runs in each of his six healthy seasons in the NPB in Japan. Since 2022, he has averaged 46.8 home runs. Last year, he only played in 69 games due to injury, but still managed to blast 24 long balls with a 1.051 OPS. In a full NPB season, that would have put him right around the 50-HR mark. 

He even has the swagger of a major leaguer:

Munetaka Murakami hit a walk-off home run last night and watched every second of it

The 25-year-old third baseman will be signed by an MLB team this offseasonpic.twitter.com/IgjL13DrvK

— Talkin' Baseball (@TalkinBaseball_) August 12, 2025

He has a career .951 OPS and .394 on-base percentage, as he draws plenty of walks, in addition to striking out plenty. 

According to insider Jon Morosi, there are no less than seven teams with interest in Murakami:

• Boston Red Sox
• Seattle Mariners
• Detroit Tigers
• Philadelphia Phillies
• New York Mets
• Toronto Blue Jays
• Pittsburgh Pirates

Now, five of those seven teams make a lot of sense. The Red Sox have been looking for a big-time bat in their lineup for a while. And with the potential of Alex Bregman leaving in free agency, they'll really be desperate for an offensive boost. They lost out on the real Schwarber in free agency, so maybe they take a swing here on the Japanese version.

The Mariners, Tigers and Pirates are all teams looking for a big bat in their lineups. The M's appear to be letting third baseman Eugenio Suarez go in free agency, and Murakami would be an ideal replacement. As for the Mets, they, of course, lost Pete Alonso, so they'll have to somehow find another 40 HR and 100+ RBIs somewhere. 

For the Phillies, who DO have the real Schwarber, this doesn't make a whole lot of sense, as their DH spot is tied up for years. Unless they don't have any qualms with Murakami's defense at the corners, in which case they could plug him in at first base and move Bryce Harper back to the outfield. 

As for the Blue Jays, they'll have to continue to rotate George Springer, Anthony Santander and others through the DH spot, while they have Vladimir Guerrero Jr. locked in at first, and a combination of Addison Barger and Ernie Clement at third. Murakami would be a tough fit in their lineup. 

Whatever the case, time is ticking down to Monday's deadline for Murakami to be signed.