The Toronto Blue Jays are interested in Japanese slugger Kazuma Okamoto, according to Jon Heyman of the New York Post.
Heyman wrote over the weekend that the Jays are among the organizations eyeing the Yomiuri Giants star and cited the Pittsburgh Pirates and Boston Red Sox alongside Toronto as interested teams.
Okamoto, 29, was traded by the Giants of the Japan Professional Baseball League on Nov. 20 and has until Jan. 4 to sign with an MLB team.
Playing at 1st base and 3rd base, Okamoto primarily played 3rd base in Japan and is not expected to play much at 1st base if he were to sign in Toronto with Vladimir Guerrero Jr. under a long-term contract. He also has experience as an outfielder.
In 77 games played last season for the Giants, Okamoto posted a .322 batting average with 15 home runs and 51 RBIs. He has 248 home runs in his NPB career and has hit 30 or more for six straight years from 2018-2023, including a career-high 41 two seasons ago. He spent his entire 11-year career with the Tokyo-based Giants.
Okamoto is one of the few NPB stars to join the MLB this winter, along with slugger Munetaka Murakami and right-handed pitcher Tatsuya Imai.
