Insider predicts Pirates will land Japanese star nobody expected as free agency rumors pick up

At the close of September, you thought you'd pack it up and hibernate until the late February thaw. The Pittsburgh Pirates don't often make news prior to pitchers and catchers reporting, so you figured this would be a good time to catch up on some sleep.

Then the report came out that the Pirates are looking to raise payroll. No, you didn't start hitting the eggnog too early. An additional $30 million to $40 million is being earmarked for the 2026 roster. This is Bob Nutting and Ben Cherington, though, so maybe it's wise not to get your hopes up.

But the rumors keep picking up steam. Rival executives believe the Pirates are the small-market club most likely to make a splash. You can hardly believe your eyes. This is the franchise whose biggest free-agent splash ever was $39 million for Francisco Liriano.

Now the train keeps rolling. MLB.com's Anthony Castrovince came up with some bold predictions for the offseason, and he has the Pirates sailing in totally uncharted waters, landing Japanese star Kazuma Okamoto.

Insider's "Kazuma Okamoto to the Pirates" prediction is music to our ears

We know that the Pirates desperately need offense, and we also know that outside of a handful of stars at the top of the market, this free-agent class is pretty light on impact bats.

Even some of the top stars have questions, like whether or not Pete Alonso will age like milk, and the exit velocity concerns that plague Alex Bregman and Cody Bellinger.

Okamoto didn't enter these proceedings with the same fanfare as his countryman Munetaka Murakami did. Murakami is four years his junior and is just a few years removed from a sensational 56-homer campaign.

But those in the know prefer Okamoto, and it's easy to see why. The 29-year-old comes with versatility, flaunting extensive experience at first base, third base, and left field. He's also a better defender than Murakami. But it's the offensive profile that should have you really excited.

He might not have a 50-plus homer year on his resume, but Okamoto has been one of the NPB's most consistent power bats. He's reached 30 dingers six years out of his eight-year career, with one of his misses coming in 2025 when he was limited to just 69 games (and with 15 in that time, he was on pace to do it again).

It's more than just power, though. While Murakami has sky-high and rising strikeout rates, Okamoto's rates are low and falling. He's only struck out over 19.5% once, and his K-rates were 15.9% in 2024 and 11.3% in 2025. He pairs that with above-average walk rates as well.

In addition, Okamoto has strong contact skills, posting a highly translatable 84% contact rate against 94-plus miles per hour fastballs. That's one of the best indicators that an overseas bat will work out in the bigs.

Given that the Pirates need help everywhere on offense, Okamoto's well-rounded game is exactly what the doctor ordered for Pittsburgh. So rub your eyes and wake up. A big splash isn't a reality yet, but it's close, and if that player ends up being Okamoto, it realistically couldn't be better.