NY Mets Monday Morning GM: 5 boldest moves David Stearns could make next

4) Sign Munetaka Murakami for more money than Pete Alonso got

Do I think it happens? No way. No shot. It can’t possibly be what the Mets do. But it is bold. It is reasonable in a sense. The signing of Munetaka Murakami would further the Mets going against the idea of run prevention like the signing of Jorge Polanco did. Murakami isn’t known as a good defender and to go out there and pay him more money than Pete Alonso got from the Baltimore Orioles would be the biggest slap in the face to their home run king.

There is room for the Mets to hand out a lengthy contract to someone. Murakami, who turns 26 in February, is strangely someone the Mets might justify giving a 5-year deal to. Would it surpass what Alonso got? It’s hard to say a guy who has never played a MLB game is worth $31+ million per year.

The Murakami rumors seem to have been quiet despite his free agency ending by December 22. The 45-day window is closing fast and yet there doesn’t seem to be any hype about where he’ll sign. Mets fans were once intrigued by him. It seems to have faded with no one really discussing the possibility. Perhaps it’s because David Stearns’ run prevention motif hinted at how unlikely it was for him to call Queens home.

Murakami could smash his way past Alonso on the all-time Mets home run list in a few seasons if he was to come to Flushing. It would be, at this point in the offseason, the boldest move to make.