Clock is ticking on Munetaka Murakami and the Cubs are nowhere to be found

All signs point to Alex Bregman being the Chicago Cubs' top position player target in free agency. Jed Hoyer and Carter Hawkins are running back their pursuit of the three-time All-Star after coming up short last winter - and while alternatives exist on the market, the latest reports all point to Bregman being a clear priority.

Looming in the background of those rumors is the fact that Japanese corner infielder Munetaka Murakami has just eight days to sign with an MLB team - and the Cubs have only scarcely been connected to the 25-year-old slugger as time winds down on his free agent clock.

Early in the offseason, Murakami was mentioned a lot as a fit for the Cubs, but it seems like after reports surfaced concerning struggles against high-velocity pitches, everyone cooled on him pretty quickly. One social media post that went viral suggested he batted just .095 last year in NPB action against pitches of 93 MPH or higher. For context, the average fastball velocity in Major League Baseball sits around 94 MPH. Depending on the data set you pull from his NPB career, you can reach varying conclusions about how he fared against big fastballs.

Cubs no longer listed among teams with Munetaka Murakami interest

According to Jon Morosi, teams with interest in Murakami include the Red Sox, Mariners, Tigers, Phillies, Mets, Blue Jays and Pirates. Boston had interest in Pete Alonso before he joined the Orioles and the Phillies checked a big box by re-signing Kyle Schwarber, who drew heavy interest from Pittsburgh, among others.

“All the power that he’s had in the past, the 56-homer season, a really intriguing lefty bat. Yeah, there’s some swing and miss, but he’s a guy that a lot of teams like. You can’t wait forever on Bregman because Murakami is no longer a secondary option once you get past December 22.”

Last season with the Yakult Swallows, Murakami slashed .286/.392/.659 in 263 plate appearances and, as Morosi noted, had a 56-home run effort in 2022 as a young 22-year-old. The markets for Murakami and Bregman are intricately intertwined and for a team like the Cubs, even if they're not 'in' on the former, their pursuit of the latter could be impacted by how the next week-plus plays out.