Yomiuri Giants Announce They Will Post Kazuma Okamoto

The Yomiuri Giants announced on Wednesday morning that they will post corner infielder Kazuma Okamoto. There had been conflicting reports in recent days about whether or not the Giants would grant their captain’s request to be posted this offseason. Okamoto is part of what’s expected to be a strong group of Japanese players posted this offseason, including 1B/3B Munetaka Murakami, RHP Kona Takahashi, and RHP Tatsuya Imai.

The 29-year-old has spent 11 seasons playing professionally in Japan, with all of them coming in the Giants organization. In 2025, the right-handed batter hit .327/.416/.4598 with 21 doubles, 15 home runs, 49 RBIs, and the exact same number of walks (33) as strikeouts (33) in 69 games. He missed time this year with an elbow injury. His best season came in 2023 when he slugged a career-high 41 home runs and posted a .952 OPS in 140 games.

From 2018 through the 2022 seasons, Okamoto had at least 30 home runs each year. He knocked in over 100 runs in two of those seasons and drove in at least 90 in two as well. He is a six-time NPB All-Star, three-time Central League Home Run Leader, two-time Central League RBI Leader and three-time Mitsui Gold Glove winner (2024, 1B; 2021 & 2022, 3B).

One key statistic scouts focus on when discussing hitters transitioning from the Japan Central League to Major League Baseball is how well they can handle velocity. Okamoto has been good against fastballs of at least 93 mph in his career with a .298 batting average and an 80% contact rate. He led the NPB this season with a .440 batting average against fastballs of at least 93 mph. Here’s a video of Okamoto hitting a two-run double off the Cubs’ hard-throwing reliever (averaged 99.6 mph this season), Daniel Palencia.

On defense, Okamoto is regarded as a higher defender than his counterpart slugger Munetaka Murekami, who is also expected to be posted this offseason. Okamoto played first and third base this season and has 164 games of experience in the corner outfield. As mentioned above, he has won three Gold Gloves – two at third base and one at first.

Once Okamoto is officially posted, teams will have a 45-day negotiating window. Okamoto would be expected to get a contract that exceeds $50 million, meaning the signing team would be on the hook for the release fee that will be 20 percent of the first $25 million, plus 17.5 percent of the next $25 million, plus 15 percent of the total guaranteed value exceeding $50 million.

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