Toronto Blue Jaysthird baseman Kazuma Okamoto is hitting .221 with a .310 on-base percentage, 13 home runs and 35 RBIs in 59 games this season. The 29-year-old slugger from Japan spent 11 seasons with the Yomiuri Giants of Nippon Professional Baseball before signing a four-year, $60 million contract in January with Toronto.
The Blue Jays at 29-32 and fourth in the AL East, joined the rest of the league in urging fans to vote as the MLB opened the first phase of the 2026 All-Star Game voting on Wednesday.
The Blue Jays third baseman appears on the American League ballot at third base among 14 other AL third basemen. A six-time All-Star in the NPB, Okamoto is looking to make his first MLB All-Star Game.
Phase one of voting runs through June 25, and the Midsummer Classic is set for July 14 at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia. Blue Jays manager John Schneider will lead the AL squad and set the lineup, offering Okamoto a chance to join his manager in Philadelphia.
Okamoto's current numbers say his chances are a long shot, and the team's push is the same routine call every club makes this week. However, for a player still adjusting to both life and the game in year one of his MLB career, having the potential to make the All-Star Game at all carries some weight.
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A productive June could turn his chances around, giving Okamoto a real reserve case and giving the Blue Jays a name to watch alongside first basemanVladimir Guerrero Jr., among others, as voting plays out.
