The Toronto Blue Jays officially announced the signing of Japanese star Kazuma Okamoto over the weekend and held an introductory media availability on Tuesday afternoon.

Okamoto joins the Blue Jays after appearing in 69 games with the Yomiuri Giants of the NPB in 2025, posting 15 homers, 49 RBIs and a slash line of .327/.416/.598 with 21 doubles.

The 29-year-old comes to MLB with a list of accolades, including six NPB All-Star selections, two Mitsui Golden Glove Awards and three Central League home run titles.

The Gojo, Japan native hit a career high 41 homers in 2023.

MLB.com Blue Jays reporter Keegan Matheson joined SportsCentre to give his thoughts on the realistic power expectations of the Jays’ new infielder.

“It’s easy to dream on those big power numbers, I would recommend viewing him as more of a 30-homer bat and you go from there, maybe up a bit, maybe down a bit, but think of him as a 30-homer power hitter, that’s what he’s capable of and he’s done that in Japan six times.”

Okamoto topped the 30 home run mark in every season from 2018 to 2023.

“His swing I do expect to translate pretty well to Major League Baseball, that’s always a question with Japanese stars when they come over, how they’ll handle velocity and some of the great breaking pitches they’ll see. I think that Okamoto is really well prepared for this and you see the identity already of a Blue Jays hitter, he’s going to fit right in.”

The Blue Jays had one hitter top the 30 home run mark last season as designated hitter George Springer blasted 32 in 140 games.

“This is not a square peg, round hole, this is exactly fitting the identity of the Blue Jays, someone who takes some walks, works counts and probably annoys some pitchers along the way, but then land the big blow. That’s what made the Blue Jays great last season and that’s what makes Okamoto such a great fit for this team.”

After winning the American League pennant, the Blue Jays stayed in the headlines early in the offseason making a big splash by adding Dylan Cease as well as Tyler Rogers and Cody Ponce through free agency.

They have been heavily linked to their own free agent Bo Bichette as well as Kyle Tucker, most recently with the Chicago Cubs.

Matheson thinks the Jays have the ability to make more moves before the upcoming season.

“I do still believe they have flexibility to keep pushing and keep being aggressive. Ross Atkins said today that any future deals would obviously come at the cost of some playing time for big leaguers. That could be Ernie Clement, Addison Barger or Nathan Lukes. You need to weigh that into it, but the Blue Jays I expect to still be in the markets for Bo Bichette, for Kyle Tucker. Money determines everything, but the aggression is there and the motivation has never been more present than it is right now for the Blue Jays, I don’t think they’re done yet.”