Munetaka Murakami Sets Off MLB’s Next Major Bidding War
By James Moreau | 12 Nov, 2025

A 56-homer Triple Crown season preceded the power hitter’s official entry into the MLB posting system, kicking off a feverish 45-day bidding war.

Major League Baseball is still agog with Japanese fever after the Dodgers won back-to-back World Series titles last month.

In the minds of fans and back offices alike that feat is inextricably tied to Yoshinobu Yamamoto’s 2025 series MVP title and 3-time league MVP Shohei Ohtani’s best individual MLB performance of all time in the NLCS. 

And now the MLB is about to get another young Japanese star – Munetaka Murakami.

The 25-year-old third baseman formally entered the MLB posting system last Saturday after eight seasons in the NPB.  Murakami earned All-Star nods four times, including his historic 2022 Triple Crown season, by homering 56 times to break NBP’s single season HR record for a Japanese-born player set in 1964 by Sadaharu Oh. 

By comparison the most homeruns Ohtani ever hit in a single NPB season was 22, though he averaged a significantly lower number of plate appearance per game and season than Murakami.

The highly anticipated bidding war has a 45-day negotiating window that ends December 22, 2025, at 5 p.m. ET.

MLB suits are feverishly assembling nine-figure deals for the 6’2” 213-lb power hitter, potentially resetting the market for international free agents.   Those potential offers are likely to strain team budgets.  The signing team must pay a tiered transfer fee to the Kumamoto-native’s NPB team, the Tokyo Yakult Swallows, ranging from 15%-20% of each dollar of the contract.

Among the clubs expected to bid for Murakami are the Yankees, Mets, Mariners, Phillies, Giants, Red Sox, and of course — the Dodgers.   A recent poll of baseball writers had 46% giving the nod to the Mariners.

The franchise that ultimately secures Murakami isn't just acquiring a power bat; they’re cementing their lineup’s dominance for the next decade.  Like his former competitor and WBC teammate Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Murakami promises to deliver immediate and transformative success as amply demonstrated on the other side of the Pacific.