Kazuma Okamoto’s clock is running out as the market heats up

Key Highlights

• Others have checked in as well, but the clock is now the defining factor.
• Once the posting window closes, Okamoto is no longer an option, and teams that passed will not get another look. Just days before his own posting window closed earlier this winter, Japanese star Munetaka Murakami finalized a deal with the Chicago White Sox.
• Murakami’s situation underscored a familiar reality of the posting system.
• The decisions tend to come late, and teams willing to act decisively can separate themselves from clubs still waiting on other markets to resolve. Okamoto, 29, is coming off a shortened but explosive season with NPB’s Yomiuri Giants, hitting .327/.416/.598 in 69 games.
• That half-season surge came with a 210 wRC+, 15 home runs, and nearly identical strikeout and walk rates.