Latest exciting Angels rumor about Japanese star needs a big grain of salt

The MLB rumor mill is absolutely churning out content, but less so for the Los Angeles Angels. Like "real G's" the Angels largely move in silence like lasagna, and fans need to thoroughly dig up rumors to get excited about. Whenever the Angels are "tied" to a free agent or trade target, it is usually mere speculation with no source (i.e. the Angels could possibly want to sign this player). Nobody saw the Angels going all-in on Yusei Kikuchi, that signing came out of nowhere. This offseason, the Angels will probably not throw a lot of money around, and yet some people are trying to start rumors that a Japanese star has them as his No. 1 preferred destination.

Latest exciting Angels rumor about Japanese star needs a big grain of salt

On the AngelWin podcast, a man named Adam Dodge said he has sources telling him that 1B/3B Kazuma Okamoto wants to become a member of the Los Angelses Angels. Essentially, Okamoto needs to be posted by his NPB team (the Yomiuri Giants) then the Angels need to both win his sweepstakes and then subsequently pay a posting fee to bring him on. No disrespect to Dodge (a former host of the AngelsWin podcast) or his credibility/reputability on this matter, but the Angels signing Okamoto needs to be seen before being believed.

ESPN's Kiley McDaniel projected Okamoto's salary figure to be 3 years, $36 million ($12M AAV) plus a posting fee of $6.925 million. There are roughly a dozen free agent or trade target third basemen for the Angels to consider this offseason, and Okamoto is likely lower on the team's wish list given that he is right-handed, turning 30-years-old soon, is projected to be a first baseman in short order, has an elbow issue in the past and scouts think the power he did show in the NPB might not translate (due to the high MLB velocity). It would certainly be exciting to land Okamoto, but he's no Munetaka Murakami. Even third basemen like Nolan Arenado, Alec Bohm, Eugenio Suárez, Sung-Mun Song and even Yoán Moncada make more sense next season.

If Dodge's report is verifiable, then maybe the Angels close their eyes and just make it happen. The organization is in no position to shoo away players who want to be there, and he would likely help the team strikeout at a rate that is not the worst of all-time. However, let's just not buy into every rumor. Let's wait and see here on Okamoto.