Toronto Blue Jays Rookie Gets Disappointing Finish in Awards Race

Toronto Blue Jays rookie Kazuma Okamoto finished seventh in the American League Rookie of the Year voting on Monday night, which is a disappointing finish for the talented Japanese slugger.

Kevin McGonigle of the Detroit Tigers won the award with 204 total points, while Parker Messick of the Cleveland Guardians was second (122) and Payton Tolle of the Boston Red Sox (54) was third.

Beyond them were Munetaka Murakami (White Sox), Carter Jensen (Royals) and Chase DeLauter (Guardians). Okamoto came next with just 17 points.

While each of the players who finished ahead of Okamoto is very solid in their own right, Okamoto's season feels as if its being overshadowed.

Signed to a four-year deal worth $60 million last winter, Okamoto played 156 games for the Blue Jays, becoming the team's biggest threat in the middle of the order. Known as a power bat who had good plate discipline during his time in Japan, he largely lived up to his reputation. He hit .232 with 33 homers and 92 RBIs, posting a .310 on-base percentage with a .762 OPS. He had a 107 OPS+ and a 2.5 bWAR.

While the Blue Jays were a disappointing 79-83 overall, Okamoto was far from disappointing. He carried the lineup in the wake of Vladimir Guerrero Jr.'s struggles and injuries to Anthony Santander and Addison Barger.

I know that this isn't an actual consideration for voters, but for me, it matters: Okamoto came over to the big leagues and faced pitchers he's never seen and never heard of. The lack of familiarity with the North American pitchers he faced makes his numbers even more impressive, at least to me.

Only each individual voter can give the answer to this, but it's possible that the lack of team success was held against him, as four of the top six finishers were on American League playoff teams. And perhaps Okamoto's age and past experience was held against him as well. Okamoto is 30 years old, having already played a full career in Nippon Professional Baseball.

The Blue Jays contingent is now in Las Vegas at the general managers meetings, which has a chance to be the biggest event of the offseason. With about three weeks until the lockout, this will likely be the only chance for teams to be around each other in person and for the Jays to talk with players and agents. Toronto has multiple needs to help improve upon its 2026 season, and we're starting to get intrigued by the idea of the team adding former Yankees second baseman Jazz Chisholm Jr.