Ticking clock officially begins on another potential international Dodgers target

Japanese slugger Munetaka Murakami was definitely going to be posted at some point this offseason, but it was a shock when Jeff Passan reported that he was being posted on Friday, Nov. 7, less than 24 hours after the free agency signing window officially opened. Starting on Saturday, he'll have a 45-day signing window to sign.

International free agencies, even the ones more straightforward than Roki Sasaki's was last year, are tricky, and one would think that Murakami would want to stay back and let a few established players sign to set the market. Posting this early could make him the first big domino of the offseason to fall.

The Dodgers have been linked to Murakami in only the loosest ways, in that he is a Japanese star and the Dodgers love to sign Japanese stars. Teams like the Red Sox and Mets have been more actively speculated upon as destinations for him, especially if the Red Sox fail to sign a Kyle Schwarber or Pete Alonso and if the Mets fail to re-sign Alonso.

The Dodgers also don't seem to have the roster space for Murakami. Freddie Freeman is going into the second-to-last year of his deal and will have first base locked up through 2027, and LA just exercised its club option to keep Max Muncy at third base for just $10 million.

However, there's still a (rather underhanded) way the Dodgers could accommodate Murakami if they really want him.

Rumored Dodgers free agent target Munetaka Murakami officially posted to MLB as of Friday, Nov. 7

Having Muncy at just $10 million is an absolute steal for the Dodgers, and he might be regretting not negotiating more escalators into his contract. 2026 will be his age-35 season, but as long as he can stay mostly healthy, he's still going to be able to help the Dodgers' offense — unless they want Murakami so badly that they trade Muncy and his incredibly team-friendly deal to free up third base (that's doubtful, though).

It would be pretty out of character for the Dodgers front office. They're the people who refused to quit on veterans Austin Barnes and Chris Taylor until the sheer amount of underperformance forced their hands. Muncy isn't underperforming, and he cemented his place among Dodgers' postseason legends this year. Picking up his team-friendly option only to trade him to another club would be borderline heartless.

But business is business, so we can't totally rule it out. The Dodgers have made it very clear that they'll sign whoever they want, and losing Muncy could just be collateral damage if they see necessary upgrades to maximize their current window.

Then again, adding Murakami in the fold as a platoon option ready to take over in case of an injury or departures after 2026 would be a very Dodgers-esque move. They continue to build admirable depth, and there's no reason to think they'll stop now.