Japanese third baseman Kazuma Okamoto and the Toronto Blue Jays are in agreement on a free agent contract, sources tell ESPN.
Okamoto, 29, has hit a league-best 248 home runs — one more than Munetaka Murakami, who signed with the Chicago White Sox in December — since entering Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball in 2015.
Pete Alonso on the free agent market.
Okamoto’s club in NPB is entitled to a posting fee to be paid by the Blue Jays. MLB teams that sign players through posting must pay a fee to the Asian team from which the player transfers: 20% for the first $25 million, 17.5% for the next $25 million and an additional 15% on every dollar above $50 million.
In 11 NPB seasons, Okamoto, a six-time All-Star, has a 2.77 batting average with 248 homers and 717 RBIs. He also played for Team Japan in the 2023 World Baseball Classic, hitting the go-ahead home run in the gold medal game against the United States. He had seven RBIs in 18 at-bats during the WBC.
ESPN’s Kiley McDaniel contributed to this report.
