🔗 Share this article

In a significant move for their rebuilding roster, the South Side team have welcomed slugger Munetaka Murakami, agreeing to a $34 million contract with the high-profile player.

Contract Details and Player Perks

The agreement includes a substantial signing bonus, issued within 30 days, alongside salaries of $16 million for the 2026 season and $17 million for the following year.

Importantly, Murakami's compensation can increase based on award achievements in 2026:

• $1 million for winning the MVP award.
• Half a million dollars for placing as runner-up or in third place in MVP voting.
• A quarter-million for placing between fourth and tenth.
• $250,000 for winning the ROY honor.

The contract also stipulates that he cannot be sent to the farm system without his consent and makes him a free agent at the termination of the term. Additional perks include a team-provided interpreter and travel costs between Japan and the U.S..

Posting Fee and Team Legacy

As part of the signing, Chicago owes a posting fee of roughly $6.58 million to the Tokyo Yakult Swallows, Murakami's former team in Japan's NPB. The Swallows would also receive a supplemental fee of any triggered incentive payments.

Murakami joins the ranks as the fourth Japanese to play for the White Sox, following pitcher Shingo Takatsu (2004-05), second baseman Tadahito Iguchi (2005-07), and outfielder Kosuke Fukudome (2012). Of note, Takatsu once managed Murakami during their time in Japan.

Player Profile

Murakami, a left-side batter who will turn 26 on February 2nd, enters a emerging core of hitters in Chicago that includes prospects like Colson Montgomery, Kyle Teel, and Chase Meidroth. The club are coming off a 60-102 season, placing at the bottom in the division but showing a notable improvement from the year before campaign.

Having earned Central League MVP honors in 2021 and 2022, Murakami made history with a historic 2022 season where he belted 56 homers, breaking the longstanding record for a Japanese-born player formerly held by legend Sadaharu Oh. That feat also made him the most youthful hitter ever to win Japan's elusive Triple Crown.

His last year was curtailed to a partial schedule due to an oblique injury. Even with striking out 64 times, he batted .273 with 22 HRs and 47 driven in.

Over his career tenure with the Swallows, Murakami has accumulated a .270 career batting average with 246 home runs, 647 RBI, and 977 strikeouts in 892 contests. He started playing primarily at first, he has since transitioned to the hot corner.

International Pedigree

Murakami's clutch hitting were on full display during the last World Baseball Classic. In the penultimate game against Mexico, he drove in a walk-off double that drove in teammates for a thrilling 6-5 win. The very next day in the championship game against the United States, he blasted a tying homer in the early innings, paving the way for Japan's 3-2 title triumph.

The new White Sox addition is set to be formally introduced at a press conference on Monday.