The Munetaka Murakami free agent journey is starting to get weird.
Is the Japanese superstar going to sign with an MLB team at all?
He's got prodigious raw power, can play either corner infield spot and isn't even 30 years old yet. He seems like an obvious signing.
But amid all the other rumors, Murakami's situation has been oddly quiet. As of Saturday afternoon, there doesn't appear to be anything brewing from any of the major reporters.
Certain teams have come up: the White Sox, Mariners, Reds and more. But there's nothing concrete at all here.
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When is Munetaka Murakami's free agent deadline?
Murakami has to sign his free agent contract by Monday at 5 p.m. ET.
Japanese players get 30 days from the time they are posted to get a deal done. Murakami was posted earlier than his countrymates also attempting to come to MLB, so he's the first approaching such a deadline.
It's not often that players actually get this close to their deadline.
Social media is filled with baseball fans trying to figure out what's going on.
If Murakami doesn't sign, he returns to Japan.
Given that he wanted to come stateside, it seems highly unlikely he won't at least settle for a contract from a team before that deadline.
But this has turned oddly unexciting for a player that many expected to be one of the most riveting free agent bidding wars out there.
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