Mariners dodged a bullet when Japanese slugger signed with White Sox

It certainly feels like every offseason, the Mariners are "rumored" to compete for whatever big-name free agent is making the leap from somewhere in the Asian market to MLB.

It's tended to be Japanese pitchers recently, as Seattle was rumored to be in on Yoshinobu Yamamoto a few years ago and Roki Sasaki last offseason. They were also connected to Korean infielder Hyeseong Kim last offseason, and were purportedly an option for Seiya Suzuki in 2022. They were even linked to Shohei Ohtani, both when he first came to the US in 2017 and again when he reached free agency in 2023.

Yet, none of those teased transactions came to fruition, and it's worth wondering how much the Mariners have really been interested in any of those players. It might be that, because of Seattle's history with Ichiro Suzuki and more recently, Hisashi Iwakuma, the media tends to link the Mariners with every free agent from across the Pacific without any true sources.

Mariners dodged a bullet when Japanese slugger signed with White Sox

The reality is, Seattle has not signed a Japanese free agent since Yusei Kikuchi in 2019, a deal that never worked out the way the Mariners hoped it would. So when they were "rumored" to be a potential suitor for Munetaka Murakami this offseason, it always felt dubious.

Sure, there was a theoretical need for Murakami, who plays third base. But the long-term projections showed he would more likely land at first base, a position the Mariners covered early when they re-signed Josh Naylor to a five-year contract.

Now, Murakami has settled with the Chicago White Sox, signing a two-year, $34 million contract, and it is even clearer that the Mariners were smart not to sign the slugger.

It speaks volumes that the best Murakami could do was a two-year, $34 million contract with one of the worst teams in the league. Early on in his free-agency, he was connected with teams like the Dodgers and Red Sox, good teams with smart front offices. He was being predicted to sign a nine-figure contract and become an instant superstar.

Instead, he wound up signing a cheap, short-term deal with a last-place team. It certainly feels as if the Dodgers, Red Sox, or Mariners were truly interested; they could have beaten the White Sox's offer easily.

More likely, Murakami is not as good as the initial hype suggested he would be. He has real strikeout issues, and there are concerns that he will struggle against MLB pitching. It seems clear the Mariners made the right call letting Murakami go to Chicago instead of taking a chance on the Japanese slugger.