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Blue Jays’ Kazuma Okamoto goes to 1st base school with Vladimir Guerrero Jr
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- Blue Jays’ Kazuma Okamoto goes to 1st base school with Vladimir Guerrero Jr
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The Toronto Blue Jays signed Kazuma Okamoto to a four-year, $60 million to be their new third baseman. However, the Blue Jays are seeing if Okamoto is capable of helping them elsewhere on the diamond as well.
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The free agency addition was seen on Friday getting some reps in at first base with Vladimir Guerrero Jr. The corner infield pairing has been a connected tandem throughout early spring training, via Keegan Matheson of MLB.com.
As it stands, Guerrero will be occupying the hot corner while Okamoto will be in the cold corner, at least most often. Still, there will be days where Guerrero needs a day. Or in a worst case scenario an injury. At the very least, the Blue Jays want to see if Okamoto could provide decent work at first base in case of a Guerrero absence.
No matter where he is on the diamond though, manager John Schneider and company are more concerned with simply getting Okamoto's bat into the lineup. Over his 11 seasons in NPB, the infielder hit .274 with 277 home runs and 872 RBIs. He's coming off of a 2025 campaign that saw him hit .322 with 15 home runs and 51 RBIs.
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After nearly winning the World Series in 2025, the Blue Jays went all in on free agency. Okamoto was their crown jewel when it comes to hitters. How he gets acclimated to MLB hitting will be crucial.
Working in his favor though is Guerrero's guidance. For now, he is showing him the ropes at first base. But throughout spring training and the entire season, the first baseman will be able to help Okamoto over any hurdle.
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