Most prolific season was in 2024 when he banged out a career-best 41 homers.
Article content
The Blue Jays have added a big-hitting Japanese star as the latest act in an aggressive offseason by a team committed to loading up for a shot at repeating as American League contenders continued on Saturday.
Advertisement 2
Article content
Sources confirm to the Toronto Sun that the Jays have reached agreement on a four-year, $60 million US deal with slugging infielder Kazuma Okamoto, a star with the Yomiuri Giants of the Nippon Professional Baseball League.
Article content
Article content
The 29-year-old is a six-time all star in Japan’s famed league and a three-time home run champion there. As such it is projected he will thus immediately add some pop to the Jays offence.
Okamoto’s most prolific season was in 2024 when he banged out a career-best 41 homers but topped the 30 mark in six consecutive seasons.
Read More
-
Blue Jays already have their big bat in Anthony Santander? Nobody’s banking on it
-
How the last-to-first Blue Jays became Canada’s undisputed team of the year in 2025
On the defensive side, Okamoto has alternated between first and third base, but with Vlad Guerrero Jr. established at the former, expect him to slot in a the hot corner, though he has some extensive experience as a corner outfielder as well.
Of course where he fits defensively with the Jays depends on what happens in the remainder of the offseason. General manager Ross Atkins, of course, has been active in multiple markets including the pursuit of two of the top position players on the market — corner outfielder Kyle Tucker and their own former all star shortstop, Bo Bichette.
Advertisement 3
Article content
At $60 million, the size of the deal for Okamoto won’t necessarily preclude the team adding either of those players. The market for both is expected to heat up now that the holiday season is behind us and the Jays are expected to continue in the hunt for one of those impact bats.
Though the Jays have not landed any noteworthy Japanese position players, they have been active scouting in the region and it appears that work appears to have paid off in the signing of Okamoto. The signing, which has yet to be made official by the team, was first reported by ESPN’s Jeff Passan.
The latest signing continued a bold and impactful offseason by the big-spending Jays, but Okamoto is the first key position player add after Akins acquired starters Dylan Cease and Cody Ponce plus reliever Tyler Rogers.
RECOMMENDED VIDEO
We apologize, but this video has failed to load.
Article content