🔗 Share this article

In a major move for their overhauling roster, the South Side team have signed infielder Munetaka Murakami, completing a two-year contract with the high-profile player.

Financial Terms and Added Benefits

The contract includes a seven-figure signing bonus, to be paid within 30 days, alongside salaries of $16M for the 2026 season and $17M for the final year.

Additionally, Murakami's final-year pay can increase based on award achievements in 2026:

• An additional $1M for winning the Most Valuable Player award.
• $500,000 for finishing in the top three in MVP voting.
• $250K for ranking fourth through 10th.
• Another $250,000 for earning the ROY honor.

His deal also stipulates that he cannot be assigned to the minors without his permission and allows him to become a free agent at the termination of the deal. Additional perks include a team-provided interpreter and flight reimbursement between Japan and the U.S..

Compensation and Historical Context

As part of the signing, Chicago is obligated to provide a transfer fee of over $6.5 million to the Tokyo Yakult Swallows, Murakami's previous team in Japan's NPB. The Japanese club get a 15% cut of any triggered incentive payments.

Murakami joins the ranks as the fourth Japanese-born to represent the White Sox, following pitcher Shingo Takatsu (2004-05), second baseman Tadahito Iguchi (2005-07), and fielder Kosuke Fukudome (2012). Interestingly, Takatsu once managed Murakami back in Japan.

Career Highlights

Murakami, a left-handed hitter who will turn 26 soon, bolsters a promising core of hitters in Chicago that includes prospects like Colson Montgomery, Kyle Teel, and Chase Meidroth. The club are finished with a difficult season, finishing at the bottom in the division but showing a notable improvement from the previous campaign.

The winner of back-to-back league MVP honors in '21 and '22, Murakami is renowned for a historic 2022 season where he hit 56 HRs, eclipsing the single-season record for a player in Japan formerly held by legend Sadaharu Oh. That feat also made him the most youthful hitter ever to win Japan's elusive Triple Crown.

His most recent NPB campaign was shortened to 56 games due to an muscle issue. Even with striking out often, he hit .273 with 22 home runs and 47 driven in.

Over his eight-season tenure with the Swallows, Murakami has accumulated 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 big-game performance were on global view during the last World Baseball Classic. In the semifinal against Mexico, he delivered a walk-off two-base hit that brought home teammates for a come-from-behind 6-5 victory. The next night in the title match against the USA, he slugged a game-tying home run in the second inning, helping Japan's subsequent title triumph.

The power hitter is slated to be formally introduced at a press conference on Monday.