The Toronto Blue Jays have signed Japanese 3rd baseman Kazuma Okamoto to a 4 year, $60M contract the team announced Saturday.
The deal will feature a $5M signing bonus, and carry base salaries of $7M in 2026, followed by $16M in each subsequent season. Since making his professional debut with the Yomiuri Giants back in 2015, Okamoto has hit a league leading 248 home runs, and has hit at least 27 dingers in every healthy season since 2018.
The 29 year old is coming off an injury plagued 2025 campaign where he suffered an elbow injury following a collision at 1st base. Okamoto figures to eventually shift over to 1st base or DH in the major leagues, though Toronto could deploy him at 3rd base in his first season. Not known as a plus defensive infielder, Okamoto more than makes up for that with his above average power, and ability to put the ball in play.
While fellow Japanese star Munetaka Murakami, who recently signed with the Chicago White Sox, is younger and is viewed as the better power hitter, Okamoto has the higher floor of the two players, given his career .277 batting average in the NPB.
Across 11 seasons, the right handed bat has driven in 717 runs, scored 574 himself, and has a 481/796 walk to strikeout ratio. He also boasts better plate discipline according to several scouting outlets than Murakami, meaning he won’t rely solely on his power to make an impact at the Major League level.
Okamoto became an international star back in 2023 when he hit the go-ahead home run in the gold medal game of the World Baseball Classic to take the lead over the United States. As a result of his signing, the Blue Jays will be on the hook for roughly $10.875M to the NPB’s Giants to settle Okamoto’s posting fee.
Photo: Jeffrey Hayes. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license.