The Boston Red Sox traded Rafael Devers away early in the 2025 season.
This offseason's free agency might be the time to find his replacement.
And while some will say they end up with Kyle Schwarber, he still seems likely to re-sign with the Phillies.
That leaves a different slugging option: Munetaka Murakami from Japan.
Murakami holds the NPB record for single-season home runs by a Japenese-born player, having hit 56 in 2022.
The Athletic's Andy McCullough thinks that Murakami fits with Boston by process of elimination.
"I placed Murakami with the Red Sox, in part, through the process of elimination," McCullough writes. "David Stearns says he wants to improve the Mets’ run-prevention machine, and Murakami doesn’t really grade as a defensive upgrade over Pete Alonso. The Dodgers don’t have a place in their lineup for him. I think the Phillies will re-up with another slugger you’ll read about shortly. So the best fit for Murakami, a 26-year-old with incredible power but glaring questions about his ability to make contact, might be the Red Sox."
Murakami has also been linked to the Seattle Mariners, who could use him at third base if Eugenio Suarez departs.
But he can certainly work in Boston. McCullough, in the same article, suggests Alex Bregman will leave for the Detroit Tigers, so that would leave an opening at the hot corner in Fenway Park.
Murakami's bat will have to translate from NPB to MLB, but if it does even to some extent, he'll be a quality signing for whoever lands him.
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