Blue Jays sign Okamoto

The Toronto Blue Jays have signed Japanese slugger Kazuma Okamoto to a four-year, $60-million contract.

January 4, 2026

By Kevin Glew

Canadian Baseball Network

The Toronto Blue Jays have signed Japanese slugger Kazuma Okamoto to a four-year, $60-million contract.

Jeff Passan, of ESPN, was the first to report the transaction.

The deal adds a right-handed power bat to the Blue Jays’ lineup. In a season shortened by an elbow injury, Okamoto batted .327 with 15 home runs in 69 games with the Yomiuri Giants of Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) in 2025.

Prior to last season, he belted between 27 and 41 home runs in each of his seven full NPB campaigns. The 29-year-old slugger also owns a .355 on-base percentage and had the same number of walks (33) as strikeouts with the Giants in 2025.

A six-time NPB all-star, Okamoto earned Golden Gloves as a third baseman for the Giants in 2021 and 2022, but he has played more first base in recent years. He has also played 164 games in the outfield.

It’s not clear where he’ll play for the Blue Jays, though third base seems the most likely option, given Vladimir Guerrero Jr. (Montreal, Que.) is entrenched at first.

According to the Associated Press, Okamoto will receive a $5 million signing bonus from the Blue Jays and then salaries of $7 million in 2026 and $16 million in each of the next three seasons. The Blue Jays will also have to pay a $10.875 million posting fee to the Giants.

Okamoto represents the Blue Jays’ first significant position player free agent signing this off-season. In the fall, they inked right-handers Dylan Cease (seven years, $210 million), Cody Ponce (three years, $30 million) and Tyler Rogers (three-years, $37 million) to lucrative deals. They have now spent $337 million on free agents this off-season.

The Blue Jays had to outbid several major league clubs to secure Okamoto.