{"id":389378,"date":"2026-01-03T17:09:08","date_gmt":"2026-01-03T17:09:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/389378\/"},"modified":"2026-01-03T17:09:08","modified_gmt":"2026-01-03T17:09:08","slug":"mariners-involved-in-kazuma-okamotos-market","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/389378\/","title":{"rendered":"Mariners Involved In Kazuma Okamoto’s Market"},"content":{"rendered":"

Kazuma Okamoto<\/a>\u2019s posting window closes at 4pm CT on Sunday, and there isn\u2019t yet any sense where the Japanese star might sign even as his deadline nears.\u00a0 Such teams as the Cubs, Blue Jays, Red Sox, Angels, Pirates, and Padres have reportedly shown some interest in Okamoto\u2019s services, and MLB.com\u2019s Mark Feinsand<\/a> adds the Mariners to this list of clubs \u201cconnected to\u201d the chase for the 29-year-old.<\/p>\n

Signing Okamoto would represent an interesting pivot for Seattle, as the Mariners have been focusing more on second base<\/a> as the target spot for an infield upgrade.\u00a0 The M\u2019s want to see what they have in such third base candidates as top prospect Colt Emerson<\/a>, or other youngsters like Cole Young<\/a> and Ben Williamson<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Former Mariner Eugenio Suarez<\/a> has been pretty much the only third baseman on Seattle\u2019s radar, and even if Suarez did re-sign with the team, it seems likely that Suarez would get a healthy dose of usage as designated hitter rather than an everyday assignment at the hot corner.\u00a0 Trade target Brendan Donovan<\/a> also has some experience as a third baseman, but Donovan\u2019s versatility makes him a candidate to be used all over the diamond, and second base would probably be his most frequent position if the M\u2019s did manage to pry him away from the Cardinals.<\/p>\n

While Okamoto has spent a lot of his career at the hot corner, however, he is more of a corner infielder than a true third baseman.\u00a0 During his time with the Yomiuri Giants, Okamoto logged 662 games played at third base and 478 games at first base.\u00a0 He also made 77 appearances in the outfield, so a Major League team might be open to using Okamoto as an occasional left fielder, as The Athletic\u2019s Will Sammon<\/a> recently noted.<\/p>\n

Seattle has Josh Naylor<\/a> and Randy Arozarena<\/a> lined up for everyday work at first base and left field, respectively, but Okamoto could get some work at those positions if Naylor or Arozarena are receiving a DH day or a full off-day.\u00a0 Arozarena is also a free agent after the 2026 season, so any playing time for Okamoto in left field could be viewed as a potential audition to see if he could be a longer-term fit going forward.<\/p>\n

If Okamoto can deliver anything close to his NPB numbers, he would be a terrific addition to the Mariners\u2019 (or any team\u2019s) lineup.\u00a0 Okamoto has a .277\/.361\/.521 slash line and 248 homers over 4494 plate appearances with the Giants, and his outstanding resume includes six NPB All-Star nods, two NPB Golden Gloves, and a gold medal as a member of Japan\u2019s winning team at the 2023 World Baseball Classic.<\/p>\n

MLB Trade Rumors ranked Okamoto 19th on our list of the offseason\u2019s top 50 free agents<\/a>, and predicted a four-year, $64MM contract.\u00a0 Given how Tatsuya Imai<\/a> and Munetaka Murakami<\/a> both had to settle for contracts far below ours and others\u2019 projections, it certainly seems possible that Okamoto might also sign for a lower price tag than expected.\u00a0 This opens the door for the Mariners or any number of other suitors to get involved.<\/p>\n

A \u201cbet on yourself\u201d type of short-term contract with opt-out clauses could appeal to the Mariners, with some extra financial outlay possibly being preferable to meeting a high demand for a player like Donovan or Ketel Marte<\/a>.\u00a0 Seattle would seemingly have particular appeal to Okamoto, given how the M\u2019s seem poised to contend again in 2026, and the Mariners\u2019 long history of welcoming Japanese players.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Kazuma Okamoto\u2019s posting window closes at 4pm CT on Sunday, and there isn\u2019t yet any sense where the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":389379,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[558],"tags":[64,63,170750,591,85],"class_list":{"0":"post-389378","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-mlb","8":"tag-au","9":"tag-australia","10":"tag-kazuma-okamoto","11":"tag-mlb","12":"tag-sports"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/389378","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=389378"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/389378\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/389379"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=389378"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=389378"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=389378"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}