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In a notable move for their retooling roster, the South Side team have signed slugger Munetaka Murakami, completing a lucrative contract bringing in the power-hitting player.

Contract Details and Added Benefits

The agreement grants a $1 million signing bonus, to be paid within 30 days, in addition to annual pay of $16M for the 2026 season and seventeen million for the 2027 year.

Additionally, Murakami's 2027 salary can increase based on performance achievements in 2026:

• $1 million for winning the MVP award.
• Half a million dollars for placing in the top three in MVP voting.
• $250,000 for ranking between fourth and tenth.
• Another $250,000 for winning the Rookie of the Year honor.

His deal also stipulates that he cannot be assigned to the minor leagues without his permission and grants him a unrestricted player at the conclusion of the term. Extra provisions include a club-supplied interpreter and flight reimbursement between Japan and the U.S..

Posting Fee and Franchise History

As part of the transaction, Chicago is obligated to provide a transfer fee of $6,575,000 to the Tokyo Yakult Swallows, Murakami's longtime team in Japan's professional league. The Japanese club are also entitled to a additional payment of fifteen percent triggered incentive payments.

Murakami joins the ranks as the fourth Japanese to play for the White Sox, joining 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 lefty bat who turns 26 on February 2nd, enters a promising lineup in Chicago that contains prospects like Colson Montgomery, Kyle Teel, and Chase Meidroth. The team are finished with a last-place season, placing at the bottom in the division but representing a notable improvement from the prior campaign.

A two-time league MVP honors in 2021 and 2022, Murakami is renowned for a record-breaking 2022 season where he launched 56 homers, breaking the all-time record for a NPB hitter formerly held by legend Sadaharu Oh. That year also made him the most youthful hitter ever to win Japan's prestigious Triple Crown.

His 2023 season was shortened to 56 games due to an oblique injury. Even with striking out 64 times, he batted .273 with 22 home runs and 47 RBIs.

Over his eight-season tenure with the Swallows, Murakami has accumulated a .270 batting average with 246 home runs, 647 runs batted in, and 977 Ks in 892 contests. Initially playing mainly at first, he has since transitioned to the hot corner.

WBC Heroics

Murakami's heroics were on full display during the 2023 WBC. In the semifinal against Mexico, he drove in a walk-off two-base hit that drove in teammates for a dramatic 6-5 victory. The next night in the championship game against the United States, he blasted a equalizing shot in the early innings, setting the stage for Japan's 3-2 3-2 victory.

The lefty slugger is set to be unveiled at a media availability on Monday.