A report out of Japan indicates that Japanese infielder Kazuma Okamoto is now in the United States ahead of the January 4 expiration of his posting period for MLB teams. He is reportedly meeting with his agent, Scott Boras, and visiting interested teams. This sounds like what we heard over the weekend about Tatsuya Imai, whose posting expires two days earlier.
I suppose that means we need to be on the lookout for clandestine meetings at Wrigley Field this week.
The Cubs should just host the two together for a visit, pulling out all the stops to convince them that Chicago is the best destination for Japanese stars, eh?
As with Imai, we still don’t have a great sense of just how many teams are going to be seriously involved in the bidding for Okamoto, or how high the price will climb. He missed half of the season with a non-throwing elbow injury (suffered in a collision), but he came back and still raked, so it’s probably not a lingering issue or specific risk. He’s 29, which is not as young as Munetaka Murakami, who had to settle for a two-year deal, but Okamoto is seeing as having a higher floor and more defensive value. He wasn’t hitting at a level quite where Seiya Suzuki was in his final stretch in the NPB, but Okamoto is nevertheless putting up monster numbers, particularly the last three seasons. He walks, he doesn’t strike out, he hits for power. If you were confident in the transition and the defense at third base, there’s a lot of potential value here.
But it’s simply not the same as projecting out an MLB player’s free agent contract, where we have more one-to-one data, more robust comps, and a longer track record of knowing what contracts typically look like for certain types of players. Sometimes we learn how the market viewed a player coming over from Asia only after we see the final contract.
The Cubs were mentioned last week as one of the possible suitors, but the latest reporting didn’t explicitly name them:
The Padres, Pirates, and Angels have been three of the teams that have shown interest in Japanese third baseman Kazuma Okamoto, per sources.
— Francys Romero (@francysromeroFR) December 28, 2025For the Cubs, there are a number of complications for a Kazuma Okamoto pursuit.
First, there’s the simple fact that they don’t technically need a third baseman this offseason, assuming Okamoto is an acceptable defensive third baseman in MLB. Matt Shaw is still a high-upside bat, who not only took to the third base move well, he showed he could actually be a plus defender there.
Second, even if the Cubs did see third base as the one spot where they could make an immediate offensive upgrade (while letting Shaw play a utility role, and then possibly take over at second base after 2026; or even possibly be a trade piece), there is Alex Bregman. A guy they’ve pursued before, and whom they reportedly like very, very much. Going all out for Okamoto would surely close the door on Bregman, who may or may not be close to a decision for all we know.
Third, if the Cubs have only $30-ish million in remaining offseason commitments for 2026 (to stay sufficiently under the luxury tax ahead of the Trade Deadline (yes, I hate all of this (and, yes, I’m assuming the worst, just to be safe))), then it’s hard to imagine they could sign Okamoto and also a significant starting pitcher. I want to believe they could – and they should! – but it may not be realistic with whatever budget the front office has been given.
That is all to say, I’m really not sure if the Cubs are seriously involved here on Kazuma Okamoto. Heck, I’m still not even certainly they’re involved on Tatsuya Imai, either. So many secrets.
The good news is that, with Imai’s posting expiring on Friday, and Okamoto’s on Sunday, we 100% ARE going to get some conclusive answers this week.
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