It’s Black Friday, and that means everyone is out looking for deals on the market, and that includes MLB teams. The New York Mets should be quite active this offseason, and likely won’t be scared to shop in the expensive tier of free agents. After all, they signed Juan Soto to the largest contract in pro sports history last offseason. However, there are plenty of potential deals out there that they almost can’t resist if they have the opportunity.
1) Kazuma Okamoto
Kazuma Okamoto is one of the two big-name Japan sluggers looking for a contract in MLB this winter. While the corner infielder/outfielder missed about half of the 2025 NPB season, he was outstanding when he took the field. Over 293 plate appearances, Okamoto slashed .327/.416/.598 with a .454 wOBA, and 210 wRC+. He went yard 15 times, with a .271 isolated slugging percentage. On top of that, he had both an elite 11.3% walk rate and strikeout percentage.
Okamoto has been one of the best hitters in Japan since making his debut in 2018. However, his production over the last three seasons has been nothing short of phenomenal. Since the start of 2023, Okamoto is slashing .289/.377/.552 with a .416 wOBA and 178 wRC+. He ranks second among qualified hitters in OPS, wOBA, wRC+, and isolated slugging percentage. Okamoto is also the only batter with a slugging percentage over .550, and his 83 home runs are only three dingers behind fellow slugger Munetaka Murakami.
Speaking of Murakami, the Mets have shown interest in him, but Okamoto may end up being a better deal. Both Baseball America and MLB Trade Rumors project Okamoto to sign for an AAV under $20 million. However, they have Murakami making over $20 million AAV. While he may not have the same raw power Murakami has, Okamoto’s overall production over the last three seasons has been better. He also does it with far fewer concerns about his ability to catch up to MLB pitching. As stated earlier, Okamoto only struck out 11.3% of the time in 2025 and has a 16.1% K% since the start of 2023. He had no problems making contact in 2025, with an 80.3% contact rate. Meanwhile, Murakami has a 28.8% K% over the last three seasons, still struck out 28.6% of the time in 2025, and had a meager 63.9% contact rate.
Okamoto could even be seen as an alternative to re-signing Pete Alonso. Alonso is projected by MLB TR, BA, and Spotrac to sign a contract with an AAV of over $25 million. While they are about the same age (2026 will be Alonso’s age-31 season and Okamoto’s age-30 season), his cost, along with his potential to also be a big-time power hitter, should make him a player of interest for the Mets, especially if they can get him on a discount.
