🔗 Share this article

In a major move for their rebuilding roster, the Chicago White Sox have signed slugger Munetaka Murakami, completing a lucrative contract bringing in the power-hitting player.

Deal Structure and Added Benefits

The contract features a $1 million signing bonus, issued within 30 days, in addition to annual pay of $16M for the 2026 season and $17M for the 2027 year.

Additionally, Murakami's compensation can increase based on performance achievements in 2026:

• An additional $1M for being named the league MVP award.
• Half a million dollars for placing as runner-up or in third place in MVP voting.
• A quarter-million for placing fourth through 10th.
• Another $250,000 for being named the top rookie honor.

The agreement also stipulates that he cannot be sent to the minors without his permission and allows him to become a unrestricted player at the conclusion of the deal. Further benefits include a club-supplied interpreter and flight reimbursement between Japan and the U.S..

Posting Fee and Team Legacy

As part of the acquisition, Chicago owes a compensation payment of roughly $6.58 million to the Yakult Swallows, Murakami's previous team in Japan's professional league. The Japanese club are also entitled to a 15% cut of any triggered incentive payments.

Murakami joins the ranks as the fourth Japanese to represent the South Siders, joining reliever Shingo Takatsu (2004-05), second baseman Tadahito Iguchi (2005-07), and outfielder Kosuke Fukudome (2012). Notably, Takatsu once managed Murakami while both were in Japan.

On-Field Accomplishments

Murakami, a left-handed hitter who turns 26 in February, joins a promising lineup in Chicago that also features prospects like Colson Montgomery, Kyle Teel, and Chase Meidroth. The team are coming off a last-place season, placing at the bottom in the American League Central but representing a notable improvement from the previous campaign.

Having earned league MVP honors in '21 and '22, Murakami is renowned for a monumental 2022 season where he belted 56 home runs, surpassing the single-season record for a NPB hitter previously held by legend Sadaharu Oh. That year also made him the most youthful hitter ever to secure Japan's elusive batting Triple Crown.

His most recent NPB campaign was curtailed to just 56 appearances due to an side strain. Even with recording 64 Ks, he still managed .273 with 22 home runs and 47 runs batted in.

Over his career tenure with the Swallows, Murakami has compiled a .270 career batting average with 246 HRs, 647 RBIs, and 977 strikeouts in 892 contests. Early in his career playing mostly at first, he has more recently played to third.

International Pedigree

Murakami's heroics were on full display during the 2023 World Baseball Classic. In the semi-final against Mexico, he hit a game-ending two-base hit that scored Shohei Ohtani and Masataka Yoshida for a dramatic 6-5 win. The next night in the title match against the United States, he slugged a game-tying homer in the early innings, setting the stage for Japan's eventual title triumph.

The power hitter is set to be officially presented at a press conference on Monday.