The White Sox are turning eyes toward Japan and international talent, signaling a bold strategy to reshape their roster for the future. DD
The White Sox reportedly sent a scout to the Tokyo Dome to watch Kazuma Okamoto, who’s set to make the jump from NPB to MLB for the 2026 season.
White Sox front office members discussed in September at Rate Field various improvements made to the organization’s international scouting department.
David Keller –– White Sox special assistant to the executive vice president and general manager of international scouting –– spoke of a new $12 million baseball academy being built in the Dominican Republic, as well as the process of mending broken relationships with trainers and agents in Latin America and expanding scouting to Japan.
While those factors may not impact the major league team immediately, there are signs the White Sox have a stronger presence in these areas. On Nov. 15, Yahoo! Sports Japan reported that several teams, including the Yankees, Phillies, Padres, Angels, Blue Jays, and White Sox, sent scouts to the Tokyo Dome to watch infielder Kazuma Okamoto.
“We recently hired a scout in Japan to scout the NPB for us,” Keller said on Sept. 16 at Rate Field. “I was recently in Japan for 10 days and watching those players, we do know or feel like there will be players that come over from Japan.”
“Part of what I talked about initially was process. We’re still in the beginning stages of setting up an infrastructure that allows us to feel good about a process in acquiring those players. I don’t believe that stops us from pursuing them. To the extent we pursue them, that will come back to Chris [Getz] and Josh [Barfield] and everybody else in the front office.”
What would Okamato bring to the White Sox?
Okamoto is set to be posted this offseason by the Yomiuri Giants of Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB), making way for him to be signed by an MLB team. ESPN recently ranked Okamoto No. 21 among free agents this offseason, and projected a contract of three years and $36 million, plus a posting fee of $6.925 million.
Okamoto, 29, has played 662 games at third base and 478 at first base during his time in NPB. Across 314 plate appearances in 2025, he slashed .322/.411/.581/.992 with 15 home runs, 51 RBI, one stolen base, 34 walks and 36 strikeouts. Listed at 6-foot-1 and 220 pounds by MLB.com, Okamoto hit 232 home runs in seven seasons from 2018-24, which comes out to just over 33 home runs per season.
Whether White Sox general manager Chris Getz makes a push for Okamoto is to be seen. But if nothing else, it’s a sign of the organization’s increased focus on international scouting and a Japanese market that has produced recent MLB standouts like Shohei Ohtani, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Yu Darvish, Shota Imanaga, Seiya Suzuki, Masataka Yoshida, Roki Sasaki, Jung Hoo Lee, Yusei Kikuchi, Kodai Senga and others.
“David [Keller], he’s gone beyond what I’ve tasked him to do,” Getz said. “He’s really built out a comprehensive process for evaluating players. He brought in some people to really support our international process and they’ve done a really nice job.”
“I’ve spent some time down there with that group and I see how they interact with scouts and trainers and building those relationships, which is vital for getting some of these players. There’s always a lag to any type of acquisition, whether it be the amateur draft, but certainly on the international side, just based on the age in which we’re signing players. I think the future is very bright based on what he’s been able to accomplish so far.”
