Kazuma Okamoto Fits the Blue Jays Defensively, But It's Complicated

[Matthew Creally]

Additions to the roster just keep on coming for the Blue Jays this offseason. Kazuma Okamoto is the first position player the team has signed in free agency, joining from NPB's Yomiuri Giants on a four-year, $60 million contract (no opt-outs).

Okamoto absolutely raked in Japan. He makes a lot of contact with some power upside, which makes it seem like he was born to play for a team like the Blue Jays became in 2025. He also hasn't automatically taken Toronto out of the running in the sweepstakes for Kyle Tucker or Bo Bichette. 

The real intrigue with this acquisition is the impact it will have on the way this team sets up defensively for the upcoming season. The Blue Jays' socials introduced Okamoto as an infielder when confirming the signing. He spent about three-quarters of his time on the field manning the hot corner in 2025, with the remainder coming at first base. He has played left field on a sporadic basis in recent years as well. Obviously, he won't have to worry about playing first base every day with Vladimir Guerrero Jr. holding a seemingly infinite claim to that spot. He has a clearer pathway to consistent reps both at third and in left, but those are confusing situations in their own right.

Ernie Clement finished top-five in Statcast's fielding run value at third base, his primary position, last year, though he also excelled at second base in both the regular season and the postseason. Addison Barger can play third as well and has a cannon for an arm, which can't be said for Clement, though Barger has inferior range and is also sometimes used in right field. Meanwhile, Nathan Lukes frequently patrolled left field, and Davis Schneider often took over when he didn't. Myles Straw saw some time there when John Schneider opted for a defense-first arrangement, and Anthony Santander even saw 58 innings in left, but that isn't as much time as he spent in right field or at DH. Don't even get me started on how this general logjam would intensify if Tucker or (and?) Bichette were added.

Okamoto's Defensive Ability

Since the Blue Jays got outstanding middle infield defense from Clement and Andrés Giménez in October, Okamoto's most logical fit seems to be at third for now. How that might go has been a mild source of disagreement amongst talent evaluators around the league.

Baseball America's scouting report deemed him an above-average defender at third base, where he won two of NPB's equivalent to the Gold Glove. FanGraphs' Eric Longenhagen is a tad more skeptical, arguing he lacks range but still commending his lower body strength and arm accuracy. Sportsnet's Ben Nicholson-Smith says the consensus among MLB scouts he has talked to is that Okamoto profiles as average at third but would be a plus defender at first base. BA went so far as to call him 'plus-plus' at first, clearly the most optimistic of the bunch. Yakyu Cosmopolitan on X recently noted that Defensive Runs Saved (DRS) graded him as an average third baseman in Japan, with his unimpressive range holding him back a bit despite solid fundamentals.

Potential Scenario #1

It wouldn't be surprising, then, if Okamoto's overall proficiency at third ended up somewhere in between Clement's and Barger's. He's bigger than Clement, listed as 6-foot-1 and 220 lbs on FanGraphs, but not as stocky as Barger. Either way, it'll be a priority to get his bat in the lineup. The what-if scenarios, depending on how the rest of the winter shakes out, are interesting to ponder.

If Tucker comes north and Bichette walks, Giménez will likely take over at shortstop, clearing the way for Clement at second base and, therefore, Okamoto at third. Such a sequence of events would complicate things for Barger because Tucker primarily plays right field, and George Springer is still set to DH for the final year of his contract. In turn, the urgency to get Barger's bat in the lineup would theoretically hurt Santander's stock.

Potential Scenario #2

Alternatively, if the Jays retain Bichette but fail to land Tucker, Okamoto figures to see more time in left and not as much at third as in scenario #1, because Clement won't be needed in the middle infield as much. Barger and Santander would have less competition for outfield reps.

In both scenarios, Okamoto could shift between third and left depending on factors such as scheduled rest days, the opposing pitcher, and how John Schneider wants to position his lineup on the spectrum between the best possible run-scoring unit and the best possible run-saving unit. Okamoto will also take some pressure off Guerrero to play the field 145 games a year, though the latter has certainly shown the ability to do so.

Versatility Is the Ultimate Benefit

Amidst this daunting game of Blue Jays Lineup Tetris, it's hard to see the rest of the offseason playing out without a corresponding subtraction to the existing position player group. Later on in his report about Okamoto, Nicholson-Smith acknowledged that any further additions to the 40-man roster would necessitate a trade of someone whose playing time would be negatively impacted.

Regardless, the coaching staff has a ton of options to work with. USA Today's Bob Nightengale reported that the Jays are interested in using Okamoto in a super-utility role, which makes a ton of sense – teaching him another position, or, at the very least, not assigning him a primary spot out of the gate would help accommodate the many different kinds of talent on this roster.

In the postseason and especially the World Series, John Schneider and co. showed zero hesitancy to move players around in-game to adapt to the circumstances at hand, a sight that fans should probably get used to. When there are a lot of good players with overlapping strengths on the same team, everyone has to contribute in more ways than one. More clarity surrounding Okamoto's role will surface in the coming weeks, but the fact that he can assume more than one responsibility in the field makes it self-explanatory, to an extent, why the Blue Jays were pushing for him, even with Tucker and Bichette still out there. His propensity for contact and offensive well-roundedness are reminiscent of his new team's strengths, but so, too, is his defensive versatility.

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