🔗 Share this article

In a major move for their overhauling roster, the Chicago White Sox have signed infielder Munetaka Murakami, finalizing a two-year contract for the accomplished player.

Contract Details and Added Benefits

The deal features a seven-figure signing bonus, payable within 30 days, in addition to compensation of sixteen million for the next season and $17M for the 2027 year.

Importantly, Murakami's final-year pay is subject to escalators based on accolade achievements in 2026:

• An additional $1M for being named the MVP award.
• $500K for finishing in the top three in MVP voting.
• $250K for ranking between fourth and tenth.
• Another $250,000 for winning the top rookie honor.

His deal provides that he will not be optioned to the minors without his approval and grants him a free agent at the conclusion of the deal. Additional perks include a dedicated interpreter and flight reimbursement between his home country and the States.

Transfer Payment and Historical Context

As part of the signing, Chicago owes a posting fee of $6,575,000 to the Tokyo Yakult Swallows, Murakami's former team in Japan's Central League. The Swallows get a 15% cut of any triggered salary escalators.

Murakami will become the fourth player from Japan to represent the South Siders, following pitcher Shingo Takatsu (2004-05), second baseman Tadahito Iguchi (2005-07), and fielder Kosuke Fukudome (2012). Notably, Takatsu previously coached Murakami back in Japan.

Career Highlights

Murakami, a left-handed hitter who turns 26 soon, enters a emerging group of offensive players in Chicago that contains prospects like Colson Montgomery, Kyle Teel, and Chase Meidroth. The White Sox are finished with a difficult season, placing last in the American League Central but showing a 19-game improvement from the prior campaign.

Having earned league MVP honors in 2021 and 2022, Murakami is renowned for a record-breaking 2022 season where he hit 56 homers, breaking the all-time record for a Japanese-born player previously held by legend Sadaharu Oh. That feat also made him the most youthful hitter ever to win Japan's elusive batting Triple Crown.

His last year was curtailed to just 56 appearances due to an oblique injury. Despite recording 64 Ks, he still managed .273 with 22 home runs and 47 driven in.

Over his eight-year tenure with the Yakult club, Murakami has posted a .270 batting average with 246 home runs, 647 runs batted in, and 977 strikeouts in 892 games. Initially playing mainly at first base, he has more recently played to third.

WBC Heroics

Murakami's clutch hitting were on full display during the 2023 World Baseball Classic. In the penultimate game against Mexico, he drove in a game-ending two-base hit that drove in two fellow Japanese stars for a come-from-behind 6-5 win. The following day in the final against the USA, he blasted a game-tying homer in the early innings, paving the way for Japan's 3-2 3-2 victory.

The power hitter is slated to be unveiled at a introductory event on Monday.