We all know how hard the Philadelphia Phillies have been trying to make inroads into the Japanese baseball player market. We also know how much they've struggled to make a dent up to this point. Despite running an increased scouting presence in Japan in recent years, the Phillies have yet to sign a players straight out of the Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) league.
Well, don't look now, but it doesn't look like they'll have much of a chance when the next big Japanese slugger makes his way over to North America either.
Munetaka Murakami, a 24-year-old superstar playing for the Tokyo Yakult Swallows, is touted as one of Japan's top sluggers and has made it known that 2025 will be his final season in NPB, as reported by MLB.com's Thomas Harrigan earlier this month.
The Swallows will have to post Murakami for him to come to Major League Baseball for the 2026 season, as he has yet to accrue the nine seasons of service time required to become an international free agent. Turning 25 before next winter, the heavy-hitting corner infielder won't be subject to MLB's international bonus pool restrictions, like Roki Sasaki this winter.
Not that any of that will matter to the Phillies, apparently, as Murakami has already said that we would like to play on the West Coast. When asked in a televised interview what club he'd like to play for when he eventually makes his way over to MLB, Murakami couldn't name a team but already has a geographical location in mind.
"Well, I'd like to go to the West Coast," Murakami said in the short clip. "I'm not well-versed in the details of Major League ball clubs, so I don't have a particular one in mind."
It looks like Munetaka Murakami only wants to play on the West Coast.
— Phillies Tailgate (@PhilsTailgate) December 3, 2024
Sorry Phillies fans. https://t.co/cJLURtWysv pic.twitter.com/phlM4rfeSD
It shouldn't take the seven-season NPB veteran long to become familiar with MLB clubs, as he's sure to be courted by all the usual suspects. Unfortunately, when you hear West Coast, you think of the Los Angeles Dodgers — who are already one of the favorites to land Sasaki in January. There's also the San Diego Padres, the other presumed Sasaki landing spot, and the San Francisco Giants who could be players.
Wherever he eventually chooses to play in 2026, it sure sounds like the Phillies and other East Coast-based teams will be behind from the get-go — if they even have a chance at all.
Murakami has already played 836 NPB games, smashing 224 homers with 600 RBI and a .270/.395/.550 slash line.
He won the Central League MVP Award in 2021 and 2022 and became just the eighth player in Japanese baseball history to capture the Central League Triple Crown in 2022, per Nippon.com. He hit .318 with 56 homers and 134 RBI that year.
The Phillies hoped to be in on the Sasaki sweepstakes this winter but are already reportedly out of the running to land the 23-year-old right-hander. They also missed out on last winter's NPB prize, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, despite making a huge offer.