日 거포 초대박! The prestigious team will be in history in 144 years in ML, but "we can finally release a bundle of money."

*This content was translated by AI.

As the contract of Japanese national third baseman Kazuma Okamoto (30, Yomiuri Giants) is imminent, attention is being paid to its size.

The Athletic, a U.S. media outlet, raised the possibility of Okamoto winning a higher contract than Murakami Munetaka (26, Chicago White Sox) on the 31st (Korea Standard Time).

Okamoto is a Uta big shot infielder who was named to the Yomiuri Giants as the No. 1 rookie draft of the 2014 Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB). He hit .273 (1,089 hits in 3,934 at-bats) 248 home runs, 717 RBIs and 574 runs, and on-base percentage of .361 slugging percentage of 0.521 OPS of 0.882 in a season-high 41 home runs and 1,074 NPB games. I applied for posting on November 20th last year, and 7 a.m. on the 5th of this month is due.

Murakami, who has been compared, is also a big shot for the Japanese national team with 246 home runs in eight NPB seasons. Due to his weakness in contact, he signed a relatively humble two-year, 34 million-dollar contract with the White Sox on the 23rd of last month.

Okamoto is said to be different. The Athletic said, "Okamoto is inferior to Murakami in power, but he has better contact. Because of that, many Major League teams see Okamoto as a safer player than Murakami," he explained.

Although Okamoto is four years older than Murakami, he has been recognized for his consistency with 30 home runs for six consecutive years. As evidenced by those expectations, Okamoto received steady attention from the Athletics, Pittsburgh Pirates, Toronto Blue Jays, and Boston Red Sox. Recently, the rumor that Song Sung-moon (30) will participate in the San Diego Padres has made Korean fans nervous.

The most likely destination is Pittsburgh. According to a number of foreign media, including MLB Trade Rumors and Daily Sports, Okamoto is known to stay in the U.S. for negotiations with Pittsburgh. Pittsburgh is one of the teams in desperate need of reinforcing the lineup. He has been at the bottom of the National League Central since 2015 with 71 wins and 91 losses this year. As a result, he is being criticized for hindering the growth of big prospects such as Paul Skins (24), who won the first Cy Young Award last year in his two years as a professional.

MLB Trade Rumors said, "NPB's total slash line is comparable to major league giants such as Shohei Ohtani and Seiya Suzuki," setting Okamoto's expected contract at 64 million dollars for four years (about 92.5 billion won). If he enters Pittsburgh for that amount, Okamoto will engrave his name in the 144-year-old history of the prestigious team. Pittsburgh, traditionally a small market team, has never spent more than $64 million in the FA market.

Currently, the highest FA in Pittsburgh's history is $39 million for three years (about 56.3 billion won) given to left-hander Francisco Liriano in 2015. Analysts say that it will exceed more than $39 million if it intensifies with a number of teams participating in the recruitment of Okamoto. MLB Trade Rumors looked at this part interestingly and said, "Pittsburgh, which has been reluctant to spend so far, may finally release a bundle of money."

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*This content was translated by AI.