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Munetaka Murakami joining the Dodgers would be the worst-case scenario for about every other MLB team.
Murakami, 25, is the latest Japanese superstar who will make his way to Major League Baseball, as he officially became a free agent on Friday.
Where will he land ahead of the 2026 MLB season?
Check out the odds at DraftKings Sportsbook as of Nov. 7.
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Munetaka Murakami next team
Padres: +550 (bet $10 to win $65 total)
Red Sox: +550 (bet $10 to win $65 total)
Mets: +600 (bet $10 to win $70 total)
Dodgers: +650 (bet $10 to win $75 total)
Mariners: +650 (bet $10 to win $75 total)
Yankees: +650 (bet $10 to win $75 total)
Any other team: +700 (bet $10 to win $80 total)
Giants: +850 (bet $10 to win $95 total)
Phillies: +850 (bet $10 to win $95 total)
Rangers: +900 (bet $10 to win $100 total)
Murakami is an infielder (third baseman) for the Tokyo Yakult Swallows. He is a two-time Nippon Professional Baseball Central League MVP and four-time NPB All-Star. He also led the Central League in home runs twice, and the Swallows are required to post him to the MLB ahead of the 2026 season.
He was a part of the Japan team that won the 2023 World Baseball Classic.
Here is a little more information about Murakami from MLB.com:
“Murakami has played about 75% of his games at third base, with the other 25% coming at first base. Listed at 6-foot-2, 213 pounds, he has 246 home runs in 892 games, including a 56-homer season in 2022, the most hit in a single season by a Japanese-born player. The left-handed slugger also won the Triple Crown that year at the age of 22, becoming the youngest player in league history to accomplish that feat.”
In other words, he’s a stud.
Now, the Dodgers, of course, have a recent history of attracting Japanese superstars who have immediate success with the franchise.
Shohei Ohtani, 31, was a five-time Nippon Professional Baseball All-Star and Pacific League MVP before joining the Los Angeles Angels in 2018, and moving over to the Dodgers in 2024. Since coming to Major League Baseball, he has been named AL Rookie of the Year, a five-time All-Star, a five-time All-MLB first-team member, a three-time MVP (soon to be four?), and has won back-to-back World Series titles with the Dodgers.
In 2024, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, 27, joined Ohtani in the major leagues and with the Dodgers. He was also an NPB five-time All-Star, but as a full-time pitcher, he won the triple crown three times and Pacific League MVP three times, among a number of other accolades, including leading the Pacific League in ERA and strikeouts four times each, and leading the Pacific League in wins three times.
He is also a two-time World Series champion and won World Series MVP this season.
Then there is Roki Sasaki.
Sasaki, 23, joined the Dodgers ahead of the 2025 season after being a two-time NPB All-Star. He turned into the Dodgers’ closer throughout the playoffs, allowing one earned run in 4.4 innings this postseason.
Now, Murakami will make his move from NPB to MLB, and it’s time for him to pick a team.
The Dodgers are tied for fourth on the board at +650, while the Padres and Red Sox lead the odds race at +550.
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