Toronto Blue Jays announce which number Kazuma Okamoto will wear

The new number popped up quickly on Okamoto's official MLB player page, listing him as #7 for Toronto. That's a small detail, but it's usually one of the first «welcome to the room» moments for a new signing.

I'm a sucker for jersey-number news, because it's the kind of thing fans actually talk about in January. Seeing Kazuma Okamoto take No. 7 makes him feel like a Blue Jay before he even takes a spring at-bat.

The last player to wear number 7 for the Blue Jays was Chris Coghlan during his last season in the MLB which was in 2017 with Toronto.

Now the number belongs to the big swing the front office actually built the winter around. Okamoto agreed to a four-year, $60 million deal after coming over from Japan's Yomiuri Giants, and he brings real middle-order thunder.

Over 11 seasons in NPB, he's hit .277 with 248 home runs and 717 RBIs, production that plays in any league if the contact holds up. MLB.com's breakdown lines up with the wire reports on just how steady that track record has been.

Even last season, when he was limited to 69 games, he still hit .327 with 15 homers and 49 RBIs. If Toronto gets anything close to that bat over a full schedule, No. 7 is going to sell fast.

The next milestone is the easy one, the first time Okamoto jogs out in Blue Jays blue with that No. 7 on his back. After that, it's all about whether the swing looks as loud here as it did in Tokyo.