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When asked who would you like to see playing first base for the 2026 New York Mets, most fans would simply state that they should re-sign Pete Alonso, He’s a fan favorite. He’s our Polar Bear Pete. He certainly has delivered in the past and as they say, if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.
Nothing is ever that simple with our beloved Mets. Now that Vladimir Guerrero Jr. has signed an extension with Toronto, the price for available free agent first basemen has gone up. While the Mets are still in the mix to hold on to Alonso, what if a big money team like the Dodgers or Red Sox were to throw gazillions of dollars at Pete? What if the Yankees decide that signing Alonso would be the perfect payback for their losing Soto to the Mets? What are the alternatives to the return of Pete Alonso to the NY Mets in 2026? Some of the options are satisfying. Others are, well, not so much.
Satisfying option #1: Munetaka Murakami
Munetaka Murakami is a cornet infielder for the Tokyo Yakult Swallows. He has announced that 2025 will be his final season in Nippon Professional Baseball (NPR) after which he will look to sign with an MLB team. He will not be classified as an international amateur free agent because he just turned 25 years old and has played more than six seasons in a recognized foreign professional league.
That’s not to say that Murakami won’t be expensive. He broke the record for home runs formally help by Japanese legend Sadaharu Oh with 56 in 2022. He has amassed 241 home runs in eight seasons but will still only be 26 years old next season. As with most power hitters, he strikes out more than you might like. Most teams believe that this is something they can work around.
We will have to wait and see just how Murakami's statistics in NPR transfer over to MLB, but there is a line of MLB teams with money in their hands, waiting and wanting to find out. The Mets could be included in this group.. He may want to play for a west coast team where he would be a little closer to his home or perhaps play with other Japanese baseball players. We will have to see how this one evolves.