Major League Baseball’s most competitive division got yet another boost Saturday when the Toronto Blue Jays landed Japanese star Kazuma Okamoto on a four-year, $60 million contract.

The deal, which includes a $5 million signing bonus and no opt-outs, could also be a boon for the Boston Red Sox, who remain in pursuit of veteran third baseman Alex Bregman.

Okamoto, 29, primarily played first and third during his 11 seasons with the Yomiuri Giants in Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball league and is expected to be Toronto’s everyday third baseman.

The Red Sox were among several teams linked to Okamoto, who fit four of their top position-player areas of need: experience at both infield corners and the ability to hit for both contact and power. He hit at least 30 home runs in six consecutive NPB seasons before ‘25, when a left elbow injury limited him to 69 games (he still managed to hit 15 home runs). Over 1,074 Giants games since his 2015 debut at age 19, he hit .277 with .361 on-base and .521 slugging percentages.

The Red Sox checked first base off their list with last month’s acquisition of veteran catcher-turned-first-baseman Willson Contreras from the St. Louis Cardinals, but third base remains a question mark.

Bregman has been at the top of Boston’s wish list since he opted out of the remaining two seasons of his three-year, $120 million deal at the start of the offseason, but it will take more than Toronto’s presumed exit from the race to get him back in a Red Sox uniform.

The Red Sox were willing to give Bregman a high annual salary and two player opt-outs last year, but he’s seeking a longer-term deal in his second consecutive offseason on the market. Blockbuster signings defined the Red Sox for most of the first two decades of this century, but they have pivoted almost exclusively to team-friendly extensions for younger players since their most recent rebuild. Since 2019 they have only signed two free agents to deals longer than two years: Trevor Story and Masataka Yoshida.

The Red Sox are also averse to long-term deals for players in their 30s, and Bregman will be 32 on March 30.

Even if the Blue Jays are no longer in the mix for Bregman, the Red Sox still have competition in the Arizona Diamondbacks, Chicago Cubs, and Detroit Tigers, too.

Sources say Boston has ramped up their pursuit of Bregman in recent days. On Friday ESPN’s Buster Olney reported that they “have made an aggressive offer.” The Red Sox are, however, also interested in former Blue Jays star Bo Bichette, the other top free agent infielder still on the market.

After losing the World Series to the Los Angeles Dodgers in extra innings in Game 7, Toronto has been one of this offseason’s biggest spenders. The defending AL pennant winners have already signed starting pitcher Dylan Cease (seven-year, $210 million), starter Cody Ponce (three years, $30 million) and reliever Tyler Rogers (three years, $37 million). Starter Shane Bieber also exercised his $16 million player option for ‘26.

As of 7 p.m. ET Saturday, the Red Sox remain one of two major league teams without a dollar spent in free agency this offseason.