The MLB offseason pulls swerves out of nowhere. Alex Bregman is one of the stories of the offseason and the Toronto Blue Jays are pulling for his services. However, as the team is focused on that, it also landed one of the most coveted players on the market.
It’s been reported by various outlets that the Blue Jays have agreed terms to a free agent contract to land 1B/3B Kazuma Okamoto. The 29-year-old has 247 home runs since entering Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball in 2018. During that span, no one has more homers than him.
Okamoto was also seeked by teams like the Padres and Red Sox, who are also dealing with trying to retain Alex Bregman. This is a big move by the Blue Jays who were really close to winning the World Series last year, losing in seven games to the Dodgers.
Okamoto is a special talent
Okamoto has hit 27 or more home runs in every season of his career except for the last one. In 2025, he only had 15 homers, because he missed roughly half of the season with an elbow injury.
Kazuma Okamoto #25 of Team Japan.
Okamoto is a 29-year-old player, hence he can’t be considered as a prospect. Still, he offers a much higher floor as a player, he is very skilled. His batting average rose to .280 and .327 last year while his strikeout rate dropped all the way to 11% in 2025. He is basically a less expensive alternative to what Pete Alonso offered before signing with the Orioles.
see also
MLB Rumors: Pirates eye Red Sox All-Star as Alex Bregman future remains unclear
Okamoto’s numbers in the NBP are stellar
Not only does Okamoto has more home runs than anyone else since arriving to the NBP, but his career is just incredible. In 11 seasons, he is a six-time All-Star and also has 717 RBIs.
During the 2023 World Baseball Classic, he played for Team Japan. He hit the go-ahead home run in the gold medal game against Team USA. During that tournament, he had seven RBIs in 18 at-bats.
