Mariners Rumors: Unexpected international free agent enters mix for Seattle in offseason

The Seattle Mariners still have important business to see to before the 2025 MLB season is over, but that doesn't make it too early to look ahead to the offseason. This is especially so now that they have been linked to one of the upcoming free-agent market's top targets: Munetaka Murakami.

This is courtesy of Jon Heyman of the New York Post, who labeled the Mariners as his "No. 1 team" for the Japanese slugger in free agency in a Bleacher Report live stream on Wednesday:

"The Mariners have the money," said Heyman. "Obviously, they've had Japanese players before and done well with them. To me, the Mariners are an excellent fit for Murakami."

Could the Mariners win the upcoming sweepstakes for Japan's top slugger?

For anyone who is unfamiliar with Murakami, he's kind of a big deal in Japan.

He averaged 37 home runs per year for the Yakult Swallows between 2019 and 2024, peaking with 56 in 2022. That set an NPB record for a Japanese-born player, though it fell short of former Mariner Wladimir Balentien's overall record of 60 from the 2013 season.

Oh, and he's still only 25 years old.

By all accounts, the power is legit. Murakami has a sturdy 6-foot-2, 213-pound frame, and we know from the 2023 World Baseball Classic that he can reach exit velocities as high as 115.1 mph, as he did on this home run off Merrill Kelly:

All that said, Murakami is not without his question marks. He's operated with high strikeout rates in each of his last two full seasons, finishing at 28.1 percent for 2023 and 29.5 percent for 2024. Those were bottom-percentile rates even by NPB standards, and he's gotten even more whiff-happy with a 36.5 strikeout percentage in 28 games this season.

Murakami has played in so few games because of injuries, as he had elbow surgery during the offseason and has also dealt with upper-body issues. In late May, Gaijin Baseball noted on X that he was reportedly considering postponing his move to MLB to 2027.

At least as of June, however, media reports out of Japan maintained that Murakami is still expected to be posted this winter. He'll stand to be one of the top offensive targets on the market, and he does indeed fit the Mariners especially well on paper.

Murakami has spent his career on the corners of the infield, with only occasional stints in the outfield. With Eugenio Suárez and Josh Naylor ticketed for free agency, the Mariners will have holes to fill at both third base and first base. There's also a chance of designated hitter being available, though that will depend on Jorge Polanco's vesting player option for 2026.

More uncertain is whether the Mariners will shell out the money to sign Murakami. Despite Heyman's insistence that they "have the money," the Mariners have historically operated with mid-sized payrolls and have only ever done two nine-figure deals in free agency — a $240 million pact with Robinson Canó and a $115 million deal with Robbie Ray, neither of which was actually seen through to completion in Seattle.

The Mariners already have club-friendly deals with Cal Raleigh and Julio Rodríguez, however, and their third-ranked farm system contains nine top-100 prospects, according to MLB Pipeline. Given this strong base of cost-controlled talent, perhaps the appetite will be there for a big swing at Murakami this winter.

It's nothing if not an intriguing possibility, but it's also a matter for another day. The first, second, and third orders of business for the Mariners right now is finally getting the franchise to the World Series for the first time.