Latest rumors hint Yankees lost all ground on slugging Japanese free agent target

According to MLB insider Jon Heyman, we've come a long way from the days where Japanese slugger Munetaka Murakami preferred the west coast, but would also like to hear from the Yankees during his upcoming free agency.

Murakami, long thought of as a potential Yankees first base option (though he mainly plays third base these days), burst onto the scene spectacularly in 2022, with his NPB home run chase coinciding with Aaron Judge's record-setting pace on US soil. Judge finished with 62 homers, Murakami knocked 56, and everything seemed to be setting up for the lefty to be the Yankees' next big import when the time came.

Then ... well, things changed. Murakami has been unable to replicate his breakout, hitting .256/.875 and .244/.851 in his past two full seasons (with 31 and 33 homers, respectively). He's still been an above-average power threat, but after entering the World Baseball Classic as the next big thing, his strikeouts (168 and 180 the past two years after 128 in '22) and regression have dominated the narrative instead.

He'll be posted this offseason (more than likely) before he even turns 26. There's still time. But, given their ever-shifting concerns, it doesn't seem like Heyman expects the Yankees to be too involved, let alone bowl over the field as we thought they might three years ago. On Wednesday's Bleacher Report livestream, Heyman called the Mariners, Dodgers, Mets and Red Sox potential Murakami fits, and didn't give the Yankees a mention. Noted.

Yankees no longer among favorites for Munetaka Murakami (if they ever were), per MLB insider Jon Heyman

Mets head honcho David Stearns recently scouted Murakami in person in Japan, which means one of two things: either Steve Cohen is deadly serious and secures him, or New York's NL team is set up for one of those Brian Cashman/Yoshinobu Yamamoto photos when push comes to shove.

Getting tossed out of the rumor mill hurts somewhat, but let's face facts: Murakami is no sure thing, and the Yankees need to turn their attention to bringing back Cody Bellinger/maintaining their strong outfield this offseason, as well as rebuilding/reinforcing their rotation and bullpen. Who knows? Aaron Judge may become their "slugging first baseman" before too long, too.