The Diamondbacks were among the teams interested in Murakami, reports John Gambadoro of 98.7 Arizona Sports. Gambadoro added that the former Japanese star “one of the few Asian playersthe Diamondbacks considered. He didn’t mention any other names, but the free agent market includes several notable players making the jump in the United States, including Tatsuya Imai And Kazuma Okamoto. MLBTR’s Anthony Franco predicted Okamoto would sign with Arizona in the aforementioned Top 50 FAs piece.
Arizona’s connection to Murakami makes sense given the state of the club’s corner spots. First baseman Josh Naylor and third baseman Eugene Suarez were dealt to Seattle in separate deals at the trade deadline. That stayed Pavin Smith And Tyler Locklear (who came over in the Suarez trade) to handle the majority of the initial starting reps. Blow Alexander stepped in as the primary third baseman.
Top prospect Jordan Lawlar He is slated to step into the hot corner in 2026, but first base is a question mark. Locklear had surgery on both his left elbow and left shoulder in October. He is a candidate to start the season on the injured list. That leaves Smith and the utility man The Tawa team as the current options at first base. Arizona finished with the 5th lowest OPS at the position last season. With Murakami no longer on the board, the club could at least pursue a right-handed addition to Smith, and perhaps even an upgrade.
On the pitching side, Gambadoro named he expects the team to explore the narrower market. Arizona will be without top closers Justin Martinez And AJ Puk for most of the season. Both relievers underwent Tommy John surgery in June. The current closer mix is an uninspiring group that includes, among other things Andreas Saalfrank, Ryan ThompsonAnd Kevin Ginkel.
Arizona’s bullpen ranked 25th in xFIP and 28th in SIERA last season. The club had no fewer than 17 pitching records in 2025. Shelby Miller led the way with 10 saves. He was dealt to Milwaukee at the trade deadline. The Diamondbacks had four saves in the final month of the season, going to four different pitchers (Jake Woodford, Taylor Rashi, Kyle Backhus, John Curtiss).
Martinez and Puk won’t be out forever, so Arizona doesn’t need a long-term solution. The reliever market is starting to thin out, but there are still a handful of options with slot experience available. Seranthony Dominguez, Ryan Pressleyor Chad Green could make sense as short-termers who have been cheaters in the past. Arizona’s Opening Day closer will likely be behind Martinez and Puk once they return, so 7th and 8th inning experience would be helpful.
Elsewhere in the NL West, former Giants infielder Jag-mag announced his retirement (h/t to JP Hoornstra from The Big Lead). Hwang had spent the past eight seasons with KBO’s KT Wiz. He has played in professional baseball since 2007.
Hwang made the jump to the MLB in 2017 after ten years in the KBO. He signed a split contract with the Giants in January of that year. Hwang had decent results in Triple-A, hitting .285 with 10 home runs and seven steals in 98 games. He was back and forth with the top flight club on a few occasions, with unimpressive results. Hwang went 8-for-52 in 18 games with the Giants. He did launch a home run for his first MLB hit Kyle Vrijland deep into his third career at-bat.
Hwang was dropped from the 40-man roster in September 2017. After his lone season with the Giants, the Wiz lured him back to KBO with a four-year, $7.9 million deal. He was a well-above-average hitter over the life of the deal and remained productive at the plate for the remainder of his career, including a 94 wRC+ as a 37-year-old in his final season.
We at MLBTR wish Hwang the best in his future endeavors outside of baseball.
Photo courtesy of Matt Marton, Imagn Images
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