Red Sox linked to underrated six-time NPB All-Star as possible Alex Bregman replacement originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
The Boston Red Sox need to be prepared for Alex Bregman’s possible exit from the franchise, and need to find a quality replacement. While they could get someone like NPB superstar Munetaka Murakami, there’s another underrated NPB star that they could target as well.
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MLB content creator Robbie Hyde proposed the idea that the Sox should target Yomiuri Giants corner infielder Kazuma Okamoto, who’s also set to be posted this offseason.
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“One player I wonder if the Red Sox could go after this offseason is Kazuma Okamoto, who is expected to be posted,” Hyde posted.
This season in the NPB, Okamoto slashed .327/.416/.598/1.014 with 15 HR, 49 RBI, and had a 210 wRC+. He can play the corners in the infield, and also can play in the outfield, mainly left.
Hyde noted that he’s a righty hitter with a high pull rate of 47.2%, which is decently higher than the MLB average of 40.8%, and even higher than the Sox’ 39.1%. This pull would play great at Fenway, as he could abuse the Green Monster for a massive amount of doubles.
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The only reasons why he’s not as touted as Murakami are the fact that he just turned 29 this season, while Murakami is still 25, and he doesn’t have the power of Murakami. However, he makes up for that power with his amazing OPS.
If the Sox are to retain Bregman, which they definitely should, they should still target Okamoto. He would take over at first, and the Sox would have another righty slugger with Bregman and Trevor Story to terrorize the Monster and any outfielder playing in left.
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