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Hideki Matsui may give Yankees unsubtle edge in pursuit of perfect Japanese slugger

For years, New York Yankees fans have been keyed in on the upcoming free agency of grip-it-and-rip-it first base slugger Munetaka Murakami, who once upon a time revealed that he'd consider the Yankees. Consider. That's all.

While Murakami seemed like a life-changing solution back in 2022, he scuffled in the World Baseball Classic that followed, and his swing-and-miss has been a far bigger issue than it had any right to be over the past few years. What once seemed Ruthian might now be more Tuffy Rhodes-ian. He isn't a fantastic fit in New York, even if he wanted to be, especially after the emergence of Ben Rice.