The offseason has barely even begun, yet we can already scrape a potential New York Yankees free agent target off the board — through no fault of their own.
According to reports, Kazuma Okamoto of the Yomiuri Giants, a versatile option at first base/third base who would've helped the Yankees' contact profile, will not be posted by his team after all. Okamoto represented a tantalizing alternative to Munetaka Murakami, the slugging high-strikeout first baseman who many Yankee fans have been fixated on since prior to the 2023 World Baseball Classic.
Murakami, an imperfect fit for the Yankees' current roster (putting it politely), has previously expressed interest in signing on the west coast, but admitted he was tantalized by New York.