Another offseason passed in New York with familiar chaos, where Mets rumors seemed to touch nearly every available player across free agency, trade markets, and international postings.
Jan 6, 2026; Toronto, Ontario, Canada; Toronto Blue Jays Kazuma Okamoto is presented to the media with jersey and a baseball cap during the press conference room at Rogers Centre. Mandatory Credit: Nick Turchiaro-Imagn Images | Nick Turchiaro-Imagn Images
If a player could throw, hit, or breathe near a baseball, their name was eventually connected to the Mets in some capacity.
Almost everyone.
Except one.
Heading into the winter, the Mets appeared like a natural fit for at least one high-profile Japanese position player entering Major League Baseball.
Munetaka Murakami was discussed. Tatsuya Imai appeared briefly.
Kazuma Okamoto, surprisingly, never really surfaced.
That omission remains one of the most curious developments of the entire offseason.
Okamoto, a decorated third baseman in Japan, profiles even better as a first baseman in Major League Baseball, offering defensive flexibility the Mets openly valued.
At various points, New York explored first-base solutions through free agency, trade, and internal options, cycling through nearly every plausible scenario.
Okamoto fit several of those needs cleanly.
Power potential. Defensive competence. Prime-age contract years.
And yet, the Mets never appeared seriously interested.
Eventually, Okamoto signed a four-year, $60 million deal with the Toronto Blue Jays, a contract that felt remarkably reasonable by modern standards.
The average annual value landed at $15 million, well within the Mets’ spending comfort zone.
Even a shorter-term structure at a slightly higher annual cost seemed plausible, had New York truly wanted him.
That never happened.
One explanation lies in projection.
FanGraphs projects Okamoto for a 112 wRC+, placing him near several players the Mets did consider seriously.
Ryan O’Hearn projects similarly. Jorge Polanco slightly higher, at 116.
Polanco ultimately signed for $20 million annually over two years, a significantly higher yearly commitment.
Interestingly, Polanco’s projection aligns closely with Willson Contreras and Mark Vientos, two other options the Mets explored.
What separated Polanco was versatility.
He could move around the infield, offering coverage beyond first base if necessary.
That detail mattered.
Still, it doesn’t fully explain Okamoto’s absence from the conversation.
The Mets weren’t just seeking positional coverage.
They were seeking certainty.
Something about Okamoto appears to have triggered hesitation.
The most obvious factor is unfamiliarity.
Transitioning from NPB to MLB remains unpredictable, especially when facing consistent high-velocity pitching.
Murakami’s own market softened because of similar concerns, resulting in a smaller-than-expected contract.
For David Stearns, uncertainty may have outweighed upside.
Stearns has shown a preference for known baselines rather than projection-heavy bets, especially when contending windows feel immediate.
Okamoto represented promise without precedent.
That alone can be disqualifying.
Unlike Murakami, Okamoto didn’t dominate international headlines through global tournaments or iconic moments.
His résumé is strong. His exposure is narrower.
For a front office prioritizing risk mitigation, that distinction matters.
The irony is that the Mets still took calculated risks elsewhere.
They explored trades. They committed real dollars. They reshaped the roster aggressively.
Just not here.
As a result, the most surprising Mets rumor of the offseason isn’t about who they chased and failed to land.
It’s about who never entered the conversation at all.
Kazuma Okamoto made sense on paper, fit the budget, and aligned with positional needs.
Yet the Mets never blinked.
In an offseason defined by noise, that silence remains the loudest mystery.
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