Connect with us

Hi, what are you looking for?

Sports

American League champions make another big offseason splash

The Toronto Blue Jays made another big splash coming off their first World Series trip in more than three decades, agreeing to a deal with Japanese slugger Kazuma Okamoto, according to multiple reports.

Okamoto, 29, hit 30 home runs every year from 2018-23, clubbing a career-high 41 in 2023 for the Yomiuri Giants. A right-handed hitter, Okamoto has split time between first and third base in recent seasons, also getting some reps in the outfield.

Okamoto is the latest acquisition in a busy offseason for the Blue Jays, who have already signed pitchers Dylan Cease, Cody Ponce and Tyler Rogers since losing in seven games to the Los Angeles Dodgers in the 2025 Fall Classic.

The Japanese import could become Toronto’s primary third baseman with Addison Barger presently penciled in at the hot corner. While Vladimir Guerrero Jr. is entrenched at first base for the Blue Jays, Okamoto could also provide the $500 million man with some defensive days off.

Okamoto was posted by the Yomiuri Giants in November and his 45-day window to sign with an MLB team was set to expire on Sunday, Jan. 4.

This post appeared first on USA TODAY

    You May Also Like

    Politics

    Sister Stephanie Schmidt had a hunch about what her fellow nuns would discuss over dinner at their Erie, Pennsylvania, monastery on Wednesday night. The...

    Politics

    In the final three weeks of the presidential race, former president Donald Trump and his advisers have attacked one particular foe more than three...

    Politics

    A former deputy Palm Beach County sheriff who fled to Moscow and became one of the Kremlin’s most prolific propagandists is working directly with...

    Politics

    DULUTH, Ga. — Former Fox News host Tucker Carlson warmed up the crowd at Donald Trump’s rally here Wednesday night with a dark metaphor,...