Pirates running out of time to land ‘the next Kyle Schwarber’ as posting window closes

The clock is doing that thing Pittsburgh Pirates fans know all too well — ticking loudly while nothing happens.

As Munetaka Murakami’s posting window barrels toward Monday’s 5 p.m. ET deadline, the market still hasn’t fully taken shape. No leaks. No clear favorites. No “this team is pushing hard” buzz. Just silence. And for Pittsburgh, that silence is getting uncomfortable fast.

Because if there was ever a free-agent moment built for a team desperate for power — and desperate to prove it actually means it when it says it’s willing to spend — this is it.

Murakami has been called “the next Kyle Schwarber,” and whether that comp is perfect or not almost doesn’t matter. The Pirates already tried to buy that exact profile. They pushed hard for Schwarber. They went after Josh Naylor. They came up empty both times. Those misses didn’t just sting — they narrowed the margin for error the rest of the winter.

Now, here’s Murakami: 25 years old, massive left-handed power, international upside, and available without surrendering prospect capital. For a front office that keeps preaching long-term flexibility and “creative” roster building, this is the kind of opportunity that’s supposed to separate talk from action.

Pirates can prove they're serious about adding offense by making real push for Munetaka Murakami

Yes, there are questions. Plenty of them. Murakami struck out a lot in NPB, and evaluators are split on how that swing-and-miss will translate against major league velocity and breaking stuff. Teams also increasingly see him as a pure DH rather than the first base/third base he played most often in Japan, which matters for roster construction.

But here’s the thing Pirates fans are screaming into the void: those risks exist with literally every power bat Pittsburgh can afford.

The Pirates don’t shop in the aisle of “sure things.” They shop in the aisle of upside, projection and calculated risk. Murakami fits that profile perfectly. And unlike many domestic options, he brings something this lineup flat-out does not have — fear.

This offense needs a middle-of-the-order presence. Someone pitchers have to game-plan for. Someone who changes how opponents pitch to Oneil Cruz. Someone who doesn’t make PNC Park feel like a graveyard by the sixth inning. And time is running out.

Every hour that passes without movement makes it harder to believe the Pirates are truly in this. Every day of silence makes it feel more like another offseason where “interest” never turns into impact. The longer this drags on, the more it feels like Schwarber all over again — ambition without a finish.

Murakami may not be a perfect player. He may strike out. He may need time to adjust. But he represents something Pirates fans haven’t had in years: a legitimate chance to add power without sacrificing the future.

If Pittsburgh lets this posting window slam shut without a real push, the message will be loud and clear — not just about Murakami, but about what this offseason was really about.

The clock is ticking. Again.