Happy New Year from The Dunker Spot!

Nekias Duncan and Steve Jones dissect two of the most interesting teams in the league to this point: the Los Angeles Lakers and Philadelphia 76ers.

How good are they/ What are the growth areas? How seriously should we take them come playoff time?

Then, the guys discuss the breakout campaign Jaylen Brown is currently on.

They close with thoughts on the upcoming Unrivaled season, slated to tip off on Monday.

If you ever have NBA or WNBA questions, email us at  | Spotify | YouTube

🖥️ Watch this full episode on YouTube

Check out the rest of the Yahoo Sports podcast family at https://apple.co/3zEuTQj or at yahoosports.tv

Happy New Year from The Dunker Spot!

Nekias Duncan and Steve Jones dissect two of the most interesting teams in the league to this point: the Los Angeles Lakers and Philadelphia 76ers.

How good are they/ What are the growth areas? How seriously should we take them come playoff time?

Then, the guys discuss the breakout campaign Jaylen Brown is currently on.

They close with thoughts on the upcoming Unrivaled season, slated to tip off on Monday.

If you ever have NBA or WNBA questions, email us at  | Spotify | YouTube

🖥️ Watch this full episode on YouTube

Check out the rest of the Yahoo Sports podcast family at https://apple.co/3zEuTQj or at yahoosports.tv

On paper, Tatsuya Imai certainly seemed like a potential fit for the Mets. 

He’s still just 27 years old, brings a ton of potential upside coming over from Japan, and wasn’t commanding too much in free agency with his market not developing as hoped. 

However, the team reportedly was never serious about pursuing the right-hander before he reached an agreement on a three-year pact with the Astros on Thursday. 

According to MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand, that’s because the Mets weren’t sold on Imai as an impact starter. 

With the way his contract with Houston is set up — including incentives based on innings pitched and opt-outs after every year — it seems other clubs may have felt the same way. 

Imai pitched to a 1.92 ERA with 178 strikeouts over 162.2 innings last year for the Saitama Seibu Lions. 

There are, however, some concerns about the righty making the transition to the States. 

So now, the Mets will have to turn their attention elsewhere if they hope to add to their rotation this offseason. 

Feinsand again connected them to Framber Valdez and Ranger Suarez, two of the best available in free agency.

It remains to be seen if David Stearns will shell out the money and years the top arms are seeking, though. 

Here is the latest news and buzz surrounding free agent outfielder/first basemanCody Bellinger and his chances of returning to New York with the Yankees or Mets…

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Jan. 2, 5:22 p.m.

As the offseason continues, it seems the Yankees have formally made an offer to Bellinger earlier this week, per the NY Post’s Jon Heyman.

It’s no surprise the Yankees did so, as Bellinger is the team’s No. 1 target this offseason, but Heyman added that with both sides in a weekslong standoff, the Mets can’t be ruled out. 

Other teams linked to Bellinger are the Dodgers, where the outfielder started his career, and the Giants. Heyman also adds the Blue Jays as a potential landing spot if Toronto does not land Kyle Tucker, Alex Bregman or Bo Bichette. 

Dec. 26, 9:50 a.m.

While the holiday season has lowered the hot stove temperature, it appears the Yankees’ hopes of re-signing Cody Bellinger remain high enough.

A reunion with the star outfielder is still a priority in the Bronx, according to Jon Heyman of the New York Post, and the club feels “pretty confident” he won’t move boroughs for a deal over in Queens.

The pursuit of Bellinger is also endorsed by the Yankees’ captain. Heyman reports Aaron Judge is “a big advocate” for a long-term commitment with the former MVP, who hit .272 with 29 home runs and 98 RBI as a one-year rental in pinstripes last season.

It’s unclear when Bellinger will take himself off the free-agent market, but with high demand from championship contenders, some projections have him earning around $30 million annually on a six-year contract. The Yankees may have to sweeten the pot in order to convince him to stay.

Dec. 14, 7:35 p.m.

While reports indicated that the San Francisco Giants “do not anticipate making the nine-figure investment” required to sign free agents this offseason, they aren’t checked out of the marketplace altogether.

The San Francisco Chronicle’s Susan Slusser reported recently that the Giants “have checked in on” Cody Bellinger, the Yankees’ No. 1 target.

Bellinger proved to be a big part of the Yanks’ last season, contributing well on both sides of the ball with 29 home runs, 98 RBI, and a .272/.334/.480 slash line for an .813 OPS (125 OPS+ and wRC+) while ranking in the 93rd percentile in outs above average (seven) and with 12 defensive runs saved.

Dec. 4, 11:42 a.m.

While other suitors are certainly in the mix, Cody Bellinger remains the Yankees’ No. 1 target, and the club is making a “big effort” to bring him back, according to Jon Heyman of the New York Post.

Heyman lists the Mets, Phillies, Angels, and Dodgers as other possibilities.

ESPN’s Jeff Passan has previously reported that signing Bellinger would be a “multipart move” for the Yankees, as the club would almost certainly need to move one of their other outfield pieces –potentially Jasson Dominguez or up-and-coming prospect Spencer Jones.

With Trent Grisham accepting the qualifying offer, the Yanks would have a surplus of outfielders if Bellinger was to re-sign.

The ever-frenetic MLB coaching carousel has finally calmed down.

Most big-league clubs have, by now, announced their 2026 coaching staff. And the frenzy of November, with its exhausting game of musical chairs, completely reshaped the big-league coaching landscape.

Managerial hires tend to grab the headlines, and that was particularly true this offseason, as eight teams brought in new skippers. But let’s dig a little deeper and take a look at nine of the more interesting coaching changes that have happened this winter.

Don Mattingly, bench coach, Philadelphia Phillies

Donny Baseball’s hiring has yet to be announced, but multiple reports have linked the six-time All-Star to the Phillies’ bench coach job. After stints helming the Dodgers and Marlins, Mattingly spent the past three seasons as Toronto’s bench coach. That tenure included the former Yankee’s first trip to the Fall Classic in his long and storied career, an accomplishment that earned Mattingly some well-deserved headlines.

In 2026, he will be one of two new names on the Phillies’ staff (assistant hitting coach Edwar Gonzalez, who replaced new Orioles hitting coach Dustin Lind, is the other). Mike Calitri spent the past few years as Rob Thomson’s right-hand man but was moved to field coordinator earlier this winter. That opened the spot for Mattingly, who will now be working alongside his son, Preston, who is Philadelphia’s GM beneath president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski. Mattingly’s presence should be helpful around a club with so many veterans and stars. Big dogs listen to big dogs, and Mattingly is as respected a voice as there is in the entire sport.

Kai Correa, bench coach, New York Mets 

After two seasons with the Guardians, the former Division III infielder is taking on a new challenge under Carlos Mendoza in Queens. In Cleveland, Correa was the proud owner of MLB’s longest coaching title: major league field coordinator/director of defense, strategy and baserunning. Considered one of the top infield minds in the game, both in terms of positioning and fundamentals, Correa fits perfectly with New York’s “we need to get better at run prevention” offseason.

And he isn’t the only new character in blue and orange, as the Mets’ disastrous 2025 precipitated quite the shakeup. Only two coaches besides Mendoza — assistant hitting coach Rafael Fernandez and strategy coach Danny Barnes — survived the house cleaning from president of baseball operations David Stearns.

Andy McKay, MLB field coordinator, Cleveland Guardians 

McKay, the man hired to replace Correa, has been around pro ball for more than a decade, yet this will be his first role that necessitates wearing baseball pants in a big-league dugout. Previously an assistant GM and director of player development for the Mariners, McKay played a huge role in Seattle’s recent wave of homegrown talent.

It’s worth noting that McKay has tons of dugout experience; he spent 14 years as the head coach at Sacramento City College and had various top roles in college summer leagues. Nonetheless, it’s a fascinating jump. It’s not often that we see somebody trade in a laptop and quarter-zip for a stopwatch and turf shoes.

Jeremy Hefner, pitching coach, Atlanta Braves

At the end of May 2025, Hefner was something of a minor New York celebrity, the face of an improbably good Mets pitching staff. That Hefner had been on the staff since 2019, serving under four different managers, only added to the aura. Then everything fell apart, with the Mets’ rotation crumbling into a puddle of unusable goop as the team spent October at home. And Hefner ended up on the chopping block. 

In truth, Hefner probably got too much credit when things were going well and too much blame when things went south. Such is life in the Big Apple. Thankfully, he wasn’t out of work for long. The Braves swiftly scooped Hefner up to serve under new manager Walt Weiss. Getting Spencer Strider back to his best will be a huge part of Hefner’s gig. Notably, most of Brian Snitker’s guys have left town, with Eddie Peréz the only surviving coach (besides Weiss) from the last Braves playoff team.

Alon Leichman, pitching coach, Colorado Rockies

Leichman has a simple yet extraordinarily daunting task: Solve Coors Field. That burden is not his alone to carry — Colorado’s new regime completely overhauled its pitching group — but as the big-league pitching coach, Leichman will be the public voice of the operation. 

Born and raised in Israel by American parents, Leichman took a roundabout path to the Mile High City that included mandatory military service, six years of college baseball and a pitching appearance in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. He spent the past two seasons in Miami, helping to modernize the Marlins’ pitching development apparatus.

Simon Mathews, pitching coach, Washington Nationals 

It’s a new day in D.C., and you must be this young to ride the ride. Washington’s organizational youth movement has been striking, led by just-hired 35-year-old president of baseball operations Paul Toboni. The new general manager, Ani Kilambi, is 31. Blake Butera, the new skipper, is 33. 

And Mathews, hired from Cincinnati to handle the pitchers, is 30. He reached Triple-A in the Angels’ system but never appeared in the bigs and has been coaching for less than six years. Still, people with the Reds love Mathews, who is fluent in both modern pitching and Spanish. It’s worth noting that Mathews has a preexisting relationship with Sean Doolittle, the only member of the 2025 Nats staff who was kept on.

Brady Anderson, hitting coach, Los Angeles Angels

This will be the first coaching job for the former Orioles outfielder, who is best known for cranking 50 long balls in 1996 and never coming close to that mark again in his 15-year career. After hanging up the spikes in 2002, Anderson joined Baltimore’s front office for a stretch in the 2010s, rising up to vice president of baseball operations under former GM Dan Duquette. 

Anderson’s lack of hands-on coaching experience makes him a very odd hire under first-year head man Kurt Suzuki. Perhaps this goes well, but Anderson probably doesn’t have the modern baseball fluency necessary to turn this Angels lineup into a juggernaut.

Derek Shomon, hitting coach, Chicago White Sox

It’s a homecoming for Shomon, who grew up a huge White Sox fan in suburban Chicago. And now Shomon, who spent 2025 as an assistant hitting coach in Miami, has one of the more crucial responsibilities in recent franchise history: Turn Munetaka Murakami into a force. 

The Sox shocked the baseball world by landing the Japanese slugger. The sum was much lower than the industry anticipated, as Murakami’s swing-and-miss concerns scared other teams off. Shomon and Chicago’s director of hitting, Ryan Fuller, will be the main characters in charge of proving that Murakami’s signing was worth it.

Ron Washington, infield coach, San Francisco Giants

Tony Vitello’s leap from University of Tennessee head coach to San Francisco Giants manager was the most shocking MLB coaching news of the winter — maybe even the decade. It’s an unprecedented jump, and how Vitello adapts to the big-league game will be fascinating to monitor. He has put together quite an experienced staff with names such as Jayce Tingler (former Padres manager) and Hunter Mense (former Blue Jays assistant hitting coach).

But Washington, one of the game’s most colorful characters, is undeniably the headliner here. “Wash” spent the past two years as the head man in Anaheim but was on medical leave for most of the 2025 season. Apparently he’s healthy enough to return to the grind, which is a huge win on its own. Baseball is a more interesting world when Wash is ripping cigarettes in the tunnel before games.

The ever-frenetic MLB coaching carousel has finally calmed down.

Most big-league clubs have, by now, announced their 2026 coaching staff. And the frenzy of November, with its exhausting game of musical chairs, completely reshaped the big-league coaching landscape.

Managerial hires tend to grab the headlines, and that was particularly true this offseason, as eight teams brought in new skippers. But let’s dig a little deeper and take a look at nine of the more interesting coaching changes that have happened this winter.

Don Mattingly, bench coach, Philadelphia Phillies

Donny Baseball’s hiring has yet to be announced, but multiple reports have linked the six-time All-Star to the Phillies’ bench coach job. After stints helming the Dodgers and Marlins, Mattingly spent the past three seasons as Toronto’s bench coach. That tenure included the former Yankee’s first trip to the Fall Classic in his long and storied career, an accomplishment that earned Mattingly some well-deserved headlines.

In 2026, he will be one of two new names on the Phillies’ staff (assistant hitting coach Edwar Gonzalez, who replaced new Orioles hitting coach Dustin Lind, is the other). Mike Calitri spent the past few years as Rob Thomson’s right-hand man but was moved to field coordinator earlier this winter. That opened the spot for Mattingly, who will now be working alongside his son, Preston, who is Philadelphia’s GM beneath president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski. Mattingly’s presence should be helpful around a club with so many veterans and stars. Big dogs listen to big dogs, and Mattingly is as respected a voice as there is in the entire sport.

Kai Correa, bench coach, New York Mets 

After two seasons with the Guardians, the former Division III infielder is taking on a new challenge under Carlos Mendoza in Queens. In Cleveland, Correa was the proud owner of MLB’s longest coaching title: major league field coordinator/director of defense, strategy and baserunning. Considered one of the top infield minds in the game, both in terms of positioning and fundamentals, Correa fits perfectly with New York’s “we need to get better at run prevention” offseason.

And he isn’t the only new character in blue and orange, as the Mets’ disastrous 2025 precipitated quite the shakeup. Only two coaches besides Mendoza — assistant hitting coach Rafael Fernandez and strategy coach Danny Barnes — survived the house cleaning from president of baseball operations David Stearns.

Andy McKay, MLB field coordinator, Cleveland Guardians 

McKay, the man hired to replace Correa, has been around pro ball for more than a decade, yet this will be his first role that necessitates wearing baseball pants in a big-league dugout. Previously an assistant GM and director of player development for the Mariners, McKay played a huge role in Seattle’s recent wave of homegrown talent.

It’s worth noting that McKay has tons of dugout experience; he spent 14 years as the head coach at Sacramento City College and had various top roles in college summer leagues. Nonetheless, it’s a fascinating jump. It’s not often that we see somebody trade in a laptop and quarter-zip for a stopwatch and turf shoes.

Jeremy Hefner, pitching coach, Atlanta Braves

At the end of May 2025, Hefner was something of a minor New York celebrity, the face of an improbably good Mets pitching staff. That Hefner had been on the staff since 2019, serving under four different managers, only added to the aura. Then everything fell apart, with the Mets’ rotation crumbling into a puddle of unusable goop as the team spent October at home. And Hefner ended up on the chopping block. 

In truth, Hefner probably got too much credit when things were going well and too much blame when things went south. Such is life in the Big Apple. Thankfully, he wasn’t out of work for long. The Braves swiftly scooped Hefner up to serve under new manager Walt Weiss. Getting Spencer Strider back to his best will be a huge part of Hefner’s gig. Notably, most of Brian Snitker’s guys have left town, with Eddie Peréz the only surviving coach (besides Weiss) from the last Braves playoff team.

Alon Leichman, pitching coach, Colorado Rockies

Leichman has a simple yet extraordinarily daunting task: Solve Coors Field. That burden is not his alone to carry — Colorado’s new regime completely overhauled its pitching group — but as the big-league pitching coach, Leichman will be the public voice of the operation. 

Born and raised in Israel by American parents, Leichman took a roundabout path to the Mile High City that included mandatory military service, six years of college baseball and a pitching appearance in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. He spent the past two seasons in Miami, helping to modernize the Marlins’ pitching development apparatus.

Simon Mathews, pitching coach, Washington Nationals 

It’s a new day in D.C., and you must be this young to ride the ride. Washington’s organizational youth movement has been striking, led by just-hired 35-year-old president of baseball operations Paul Toboni. The new general manager, Ani Kilambi, is 31. Blake Butera, the new skipper, is 33. 

And Mathews, hired from Cincinnati to handle the pitchers, is 30. He reached Triple-A in the Angels’ system but never appeared in the bigs and has been coaching for less than six years. Still, people with the Reds love Mathews, who is fluent in both modern pitching and Spanish. It’s worth noting that Mathews has a preexisting relationship with Sean Doolittle, the only member of the 2025 Nats staff who was kept on.

Brady Anderson, hitting coach, Los Angeles Angels

This will be the first coaching job for the former Orioles outfielder, who is best known for cranking 50 long balls in 1996 and never coming close to that mark again in his 15-year career. After hanging up the spikes in 2002, Anderson joined Baltimore’s front office for a stretch in the 2010s, rising up to vice president of baseball operations under former GM Dan Duquette. 

Anderson’s lack of hands-on coaching experience makes him a very odd hire under first-year head man Kurt Suzuki. Perhaps this goes well, but Anderson probably doesn’t have the modern baseball fluency necessary to turn this Angels lineup into a juggernaut.

Derek Shomon, hitting coach, Chicago White Sox

It’s a homecoming for Shomon, who grew up a huge White Sox fan in suburban Chicago. And now Shomon, who spent 2025 as an assistant hitting coach in Miami, has one of the more crucial responsibilities in recent franchise history: Turn Munetaka Murakami into a force. 

The Sox shocked the baseball world by landing the Japanese slugger. The sum was much lower than the industry anticipated, as Murakami’s swing-and-miss concerns scared other teams off. Shomon and Chicago’s director of hitting, Ryan Fuller, will be the main characters in charge of proving that Murakami’s signing was worth it.

Ron Washington, infield coach, San Francisco Giants

Tony Vitello’s leap from University of Tennessee head coach to San Francisco Giants manager was the most shocking MLB coaching news of the winter — maybe even the decade. It’s an unprecedented jump, and how Vitello adapts to the big-league game will be fascinating to monitor. He has put together quite an experienced staff with names such as Jayce Tingler (former Padres manager) and Hunter Mense (former Blue Jays assistant hitting coach).

But Washington, one of the game’s most colorful characters, is undeniably the headliner here. “Wash” spent the past two years as the head man in Anaheim but was on medical leave for most of the 2025 season. Apparently he’s healthy enough to return to the grind, which is a huge win on its own. Baseball is a more interesting world when Wash is ripping cigarettes in the tunnel before games.

The third and final star to potentially make the jump from Japan’s NPB to MLB this offseason, third baseman Kazuma Okamoto, must agree to a deal with a major-league club before his posting window closes at 5 p.m. ET Sunday. Following the surprising outcomes of slugger Munetaka Murakami signing with the White Sox and right-handed pitcher Tatsuya Imai joining the Houston Astros, Okamoto’s pending decision represents the highly anticipated finale in a trilogy of signings that have dominated the hot stove discourse in recent weeks.

Fair or not — the two are close friends, so pitting them as rivals is somewhat misleading — it has been difficult to evaluate Okamoto’s prospects for MLB success without comparing him to Murakami, considering the timing of their moves to MLB and their contrasting styles as hitters. As it turned out, Murakami’s swing-and-miss tendencies and unimpressive outlook as a defender limited his market more than we expected, resulting in a two-year pact with the rebuilding White Sox, rather than a long-term megadeal commensurate with a surefire superstar. But Okamoto, with well-above-average bat-to-ball skills and a notably better chance of sticking at third base, offers a much more plug-and-play profile for teams to invest in.

That’s not to say there won’t be adjustments for Okamoto to make. And because he’s closer to the age of a typical free agent — he turns 30 on June 30 — it’s difficult to envision him landing a multiyear deal approaching nine figures like a domestic free agent with his résumé might. Still, Okamoto’s track record of consistent excellence and advanced offensive aptitude combine to offer far more optimism for immediate contributions at the big-league level than Murakami inspired.

Okamoto might not possess the spectacular ceiling that Murakami demonstrated earlier in his career, when his jaw-dropping power production fueled consecutive Central League MVP Awards and the single-season record for home runs by a Japanese-born player, with 56 in 2022. But Okamoto is one of the most accomplished NPB hitters of his generation, and he’s no slouch in the slugging department, either: His 152 home runs rank second only to Murakami (181) over the past five NPB seasons. Only three other hitters league-wide surpassed 100 home runs during that span, which serves as a reminder of both NPB’s “dead ball” offensive environment and Okamoto’s (and Murakami’s) ability to overcome such circumstances and produce outlier slugging totals regardless. 

While Murakami boasts eye-popping exit velocities, Okamoto’s power output is the product of superior contact skills and an exceptional ability to elevate the ball with frequency. His 11.3% strikeout rate and 90% in-zone contact rate in 2025 were both career-best marks, and he has consistently posted ground-ball rates in the low-30s, which would rank among the lowest marks in MLB if that trend continues. 

Adding to Okamoto’s star power is the fact that he played for the Yomiuri Giants, the enormously popular, Tokyo-based franchise that boasts the most Japan Series titles in NPB history. Starring for what is essentially NPB’s Yankees carries elevated status, and while — as with the Yankees — it has been a minute since Yomiuri’s most recent championship (2012), Okamoto’s ascent occurring for one of the league’s most prominent franchises has contributed to his star power significantly.

Hayden Hodge/Yahoo Sports

Further enhancing Okamoto’s reputation in Japan was his performance in the 2023 World Baseball Classic, in which he hit .333/.556/.722 with seven runs batted in across seven games, including home runs against Italy in the quarterfinals and Team USA in the championship game. And after Okamoto batted sixth and played first base in deference to Murakami three years ago, Samurai Japan manager Hirokazu Ibata has already indicated that Okamoto will man the hot corner and bat cleanup in the upcoming tournament.

That expected flip across the diamond is another element of Okamoto’s profile that distinguishes him from Murakami, who is expected to play first for Chicago (and Samurai Japan) after spending the vast majority of his NPB career at third. Okamoto is no Nolan Arenado, and he has also spent time at first as a pro — notably, a collision with a baserunner while he was playing first resulted in a left elbow injury that cost him a chunk of the 2025 season — but most evaluators view him as viable at third base in the majors, at least for now. And for potential suitors with a crowded infield picture, Okamoto might be helped further by some experience in the outfield, having logged 68 starts in left for Yomiuri as well.

All together, Okamoto offers a collection of promising indicators that his game will translate to the big-league level. But no matter how glowing the scouting reports or how gaudy the stats, the reality is that projecting hitters’ ability to succeed when coming to MLB from NPB is a far more daunting task than it is for pitchers. That’s partially the product of how much easier it is to evaluate pitchers’ raw skills irrespective of competition, thanks to new-age pitch data and metrics, but there has also been a far smaller sample of position players to attempt the move, providing fewer precedents to turn to as parallels. 

Imai just became the 53rd pitcher to sign with an MLB club from NPB since Hideo Nomo’s historic signing with the Dodgers in 1995. Okamoto will be just the 20th hitter to do so since Ichiro Suzuki was the first in 2001 (not counting Shohei Ohtani, who occupies a category of his own, of course). The success of that relatively small group of hitters has ranged wildly, from Cooperstown-bound icons such as Ichiro to reliable role players to several forgettable, failed cameos.

Where Okamoto ultimately falls on that spectrum remains to be seen, but his move to the majors looms as another fascinating and important storyline and data point in this burgeoning era of Japanese stars coming stateside.

The third and final star to potentially make the jump from Japan’s NPB to MLB this offseason, third baseman Kazuma Okamoto, must agree to a deal with a major-league club before his posting window closes at 5 p.m. ET Sunday. Following the surprising outcomes of slugger Munetaka Murakami signing with the White Sox and right-handed pitcher Tatsuya Imai joining the Houston Astros, Okamoto’s pending decision represents the highly anticipated finale in a trilogy of signings that have dominated the hot stove discourse in recent weeks.

Fair or not — the two are close friends, so pitting them as rivals is somewhat misleading — it has been difficult to evaluate Okamoto’s prospects for MLB success without comparing him to Murakami, considering the timing of their moves to MLB and their contrasting styles as hitters. As it turned out, Murakami’s swing-and-miss tendencies and unimpressive outlook as a defender limited his market more than we expected, resulting in a two-year pact with the rebuilding White Sox, rather than a long-term megadeal commensurate with a surefire superstar. But Okamoto, with well-above-average bat-to-ball skills and a notably better chance of sticking at third base, offers a much more plug-and-play profile for teams to invest in.

That’s not to say there won’t be adjustments for Okamoto to make. And because he’s closer to the age of a typical free agent — he turns 30 on June 30 — it’s difficult to envision him landing a multiyear deal approaching nine figures like a domestic free agent with his résumé might. Still, Okamoto’s track record of consistent excellence and advanced offensive aptitude combine to offer far more optimism for immediate contributions at the big-league level than Murakami inspired.

Okamoto might not possess the spectacular ceiling that Murakami demonstrated earlier in his career, when his jaw-dropping power production fueled consecutive Central League MVP Awards and the single-season record for home runs by a Japanese-born player, with 56 in 2022. But Okamoto is one of the most accomplished NPB hitters of his generation, and he’s no slouch in the slugging department, either: His 152 home runs rank second only to Murakami (181) over the past five NPB seasons. Only three other hitters league-wide surpassed 100 home runs during that span, which serves as a reminder of both NPB’s “dead ball” offensive environment and Okamoto’s (and Murakami’s) ability to overcome such circumstances and produce outlier slugging totals regardless. 

While Murakami boasts eye-popping exit velocities, Okamoto’s power output is the product of superior contact skills and an exceptional ability to elevate the ball with frequency. His 11.3% strikeout rate and 90% in-zone contact rate in 2025 were both career-best marks, and he has consistently posted ground-ball rates in the low-30s, which would rank among the lowest marks in MLB if that trend continues. 

Adding to Okamoto’s star power is the fact that he played for the Yomiuri Giants, the enormously popular, Tokyo-based franchise that boasts the most Japan Series titles in NPB history. Starring for what is essentially NPB’s Yankees carries elevated status, and while — as with the Yankees — it has been a minute since Yomiuri’s most recent championship (2012), Okamoto’s ascent occurring for one of the league’s most prominent franchises has contributed to his star power significantly.

Hayden Hodge/Yahoo Sports

Further enhancing Okamoto’s reputation in Japan was his performance in the 2023 World Baseball Classic, in which he hit .333/.556/.722 with seven runs batted in across seven games, including home runs against Italy in the quarterfinals and Team USA in the championship game. And after Okamoto batted sixth and played first base in deference to Murakami three years ago, Samurai Japan manager Hirokazu Ibata has already indicated that Okamoto will man the hot corner and bat cleanup in the upcoming tournament.

That expected flip across the diamond is another element of Okamoto’s profile that distinguishes him from Murakami, who is expected to play first for Chicago (and Samurai Japan) after spending the vast majority of his NPB career at third. Okamoto is no Nolan Arenado, and he has also spent time at first as a pro — notably, a collision with a baserunner while he was playing first resulted in a left elbow injury that cost him a chunk of the 2025 season — but most evaluators view him as viable at third base in the majors, at least for now. And for potential suitors with a crowded infield picture, Okamoto might be helped further by some experience in the outfield, having logged 68 starts in left for Yomiuri as well.

All together, Okamoto offers a collection of promising indicators that his game will translate to the big-league level. But no matter how glowing the scouting reports or how gaudy the stats, the reality is that projecting hitters’ ability to succeed when coming to MLB from NPB is a far more daunting task than it is for pitchers. That’s partially the product of how much easier it is to evaluate pitchers’ raw skills irrespective of competition, thanks to new-age pitch data and metrics, but there has also been a far smaller sample of position players to attempt the move, providing fewer precedents to turn to as parallels. 

Imai just became the 53rd pitcher to sign with an MLB club from NPB since Hideo Nomo’s historic signing with the Dodgers in 1995. Okamoto will be just the 20th hitter to do so since Ichiro Suzuki was the first in 2001 (not counting Shohei Ohtani, who occupies a category of his own, of course). The success of that relatively small group of hitters has ranged wildly, from Cooperstown-bound icons such as Ichiro to reliable role players to several forgettable, failed cameos.

Where Okamoto ultimately falls on that spectrum remains to be seen, but his move to the majors looms as another fascinating and important storyline and data point in this burgeoning era of Japanese stars coming stateside.

While the Knicks are hellbent on reaching greater heights in 2026, their captain wrapped up 2025 with yet another accolade bestowed on him by the NBA.

December was chock-full of dominance from superstar Jalen Brunson, who took home Eastern Conference Player of the Month honors on Friday. He’s now a three-time recipient with the Knicks, embarking on a new calendar year with a record of 23-10, the fourth-best mark in the league.

Brunson naturally served as the Knicks’ holiday season catalyst, averaging a laudable 30.6 points and 7.1 assists with a 40.5 shooting percentage from three across 14 games in December.

His knack for scoring and facilitating helped the Knicks win 10 of 14 games during the month, and following a 25-point performance in their win over the Spurs in the NBA Cup final, he received MVP honors for the in-season tournament.

So far this season, Brunson is averaging a career-high 29.4 points with 6.6 assists (30 games). The veteran All-Star has also been named Eastern Conference Player of the Week twice.