🔗 Share this article

In a major move for their rebuilding roster, the South Side team have officially added Japanese star Munetaka Murakami, finalizing a two-year contract bringing in the accomplished player.

Financial Terms and Incentives

The deal features a seven-figure signing bonus, payable within 30 days, combined with salaries of sixteen million for the 2026 season and seventeen million for the following year.

Importantly, Murakami's 2027 salary is subject to escalators based on accolade achievements in 2026:

• A seven-figure bonus for winning the MVP award.
• Half a million dollars for finishing in the top three in MVP voting.
• $250K for placing fourth through 10th.
• Another $250,000 for being named the ROY honor.

The contract provides that he cannot be assigned to the farm system without his permission and makes him a unrestricted player at the end of the term. Additional perks include a team-provided interpreter and travel costs between the U.S. and Japan.

Transfer Payment and Historical Context

As part of the signing, Chicago must pay a compensation payment of $6,575,000 to the Yakult Swallows, Murakami's previous team in Japan's professional league. The Japanese club would also receive a supplemental fee of any triggered incentive payments.

Murakami will become the fourth-ever Japanese-born to represent the Chicago franchise, following reliever Shingo Takatsu (2004-05), second baseman Tadahito Iguchi (2005-07), and outfielder Kosuke Fukudome (2012). Interestingly, Takatsu once managed Murakami while both were in Japan.

On-Field Accomplishments

Murakami, a left-handed hitter who turns 26 in February, bolsters a promising lineup in Chicago that contains prospects like Colson Montgomery, Kyle Teel, and Chase Meidroth. The White Sox are finished with a 60-102 season, placing last in the AL Central but representing a 19-game improvement from the year before campaign.

The winner of back-to-back Central League MVP honors in consecutive seasons, Murakami is famous for a record-breaking 2022 season where he belted 56 homers, breaking the longstanding record for a NPB hitter formerly held by icon Sadaharu Oh. That feat also made him the youngest player ever to achieve Japan's prestigious Triple Crown.

His 2023 season was limited to a partial schedule due to an oblique injury. Even with striking out often, he hit .273 with 22 home runs and 47 RBIs.

Over his career tenure with the Yakult club, Murakami has accumulated a .270 lifetime batting average with 246 homers, 647 RBI, and 977 strikeouts in nearly 900 games. He started playing mainly at first, he has more recently played to third base.

International Pedigree

Murakami's big-game performance were on global view during the 2023 World Baseball Classic. In the penultimate game against Mexico, he drove in a game-ending double that brought home teammates for a come-from-behind 6-5 victory. The following day in the final against the United States, he hit a tying homer in the second inning, paving the way for Japan's 3-2 championship win.

The new White Sox addition is scheduled to be formally introduced at a media availability on Monday.