In a major move for their retooling roster, the South Side team have signed infielder Munetaka Murakami, finalizing a lucrative contract bringing in the power-hitting player.
The agreement features a $1 million signing bonus, issued within 30 days, alongside compensation of sixteen million for the 2026 season and $17M for the final year.
Additionally, Murakami's final-year pay is subject to escalators based on accolade achievements in 2026:
The contract provides that he cannot be sent to the minors without his permission and grants him a free agent at the termination of the term. Additional perks include a club-supplied interpreter and airfare between his home country and the States.
As part of the acquisition, Chicago must pay a posting fee of roughly $6.58 million to the Yakult Swallows, Murakami's previous team in Japan's NPB. The Japanese club get a 15% cut of any triggered performance bonuses.
Murakami joins the ranks as the fourth-ever Japanese to play for the White Sox, joining pitcher Shingo Takatsu (2004-05), second baseman Tadahito Iguchi (2005-07), and fielder Kosuke Fukudome (2012). Of note, Takatsu once managed Murakami while both were in Japan.
Murakami, a left-handed hitter who turns 26 on February 2nd, enters a promising group of offensive players in Chicago that also features prospects like Colson Montgomery, Kyle Teel, and Chase Meidroth. The club are finished with a last-place season, placing last in the American League Central but representing a 19-game improvement from the prior campaign.
Having earned Most Valuable Player honors in consecutive seasons, Murakami is famous for a monumental 2022 season where he belted 56 home runs, eclipsing the single-season record for a NPB hitter formerly held by icon Sadaharu Oh. That performance also made him the youngest player ever to achieve Japan's prestigious batting Triple Crown.
His 2023 season was limited to 56 games due to an side strain. Despite striking out often, he hit .273 with 22 home runs and 47 driven in.
Over his career tenure with the Yakult club, Murakami has compiled a .270 career batting average with 246 home runs, 647 runs batted in, and nearly 1,000 strikeouts in 892 games. He started playing mainly at first base, he has spent most of his time to third base.
Murakami's heroics were on center stage during the 2023 WBC. In the penultimate game against Mexico, he drove in a game-ending double that brought home two fellow Japanese stars for a thrilling 6-5 victory. The following day in the final against the USA, he blasted a equalizing homer in the early innings, setting the stage for Japan's subsequent 3-2 victory.
The lefty slugger is scheduled to be formally introduced at a media availability on Monday.
