NEW YORK — Power-hitting Japanese corner infielder Munetaka Murakami is entering Major League Baseball’s posting system and will be available to teams to sign as a free agent from Saturday through Dec. 22.

Murakami, who turns 26 on Feb. 2, was the Central League’s MVP in 2021 and ’22 with the Yakult Swallows and is a four-time All-Star.

He batted .273 with 22 homers and 47 RBIs this season, limited to 56 games by an oblique injury. He struck out 64 times.

Murakami hit 56 homers in 2022 to break Sadaharu Oh’s record for a Japanese-born player in Nippon Professional Baseball while becoming the youngest player to earn Japan’s Triple Crown. He topped 30 homers in four straight years before an injury-interrupted season in 2023.

He has a .270 career average with 246 homers, 647 RBIs and 977

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