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By Jon Paul Hoornstra
Contributing Sports Writer
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The Toronto Blue Jays won the American League pennant in 2025, and came within two outs of winning the World Series.
Rather than running it back with the same group of players in 2026, the Blue Jays have spent their offseason upgrading several areas of their roster. The latest: free agent infielder Kazuma Okamoto, whose four-year, $60 million contract became official Sunday.
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Okamoto, 29, hit .327 with 15 homers and 49 RBIs in 69 games last year for the Yomiuri Giants of Nippon Professional Baseball, the top league in Japan.
To make room for Okamoto, the Jays designated Paxton Schultz for assignment. Schultz, who turns 28 on Monday, pitched 24.2 innings across 13 games as a rookie in 2025. He did not appear in the postseason for Toronto.
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Schultz reached Triple-A for the first time in 2023, and was was 5-4 with a 3.31 ERA in 25 games for the Buffalo Bisons in 2025. The Blue Jays originally acquired Schultz from the Milwaukee Brewers as the player to be named later in a deal that sent outfielder Derek Fisher to Milwaukee in February 2021.
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The Blue Jays have seven days to either trade Schultz, or place him on outright or unconditional release waivers. If he is claimed off waivers by another club, he will immediately join their 40-man roster, at which point he can be optioned to the minor leagues.
Potentially losing Schultz is a relatively small price to pay for Okamoto.
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A six-time All-Star In Japan, Okamoto hit .277 with 248 homers and 717 RBIs in 11 seasons in NPB. He led the Central League in home runs in 2020, 2021 and 2023.
In the 2023 World Baseball Classic final, Okamoto homered off Colorado’s Kyle Freeland to help Japan beat the U.S. 3-2.
According to the Associated Press, Okamoto will get a $5 million signing bonus, a $7 million salary this year and $16 million in each of the following three seasons.
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