White Sox Sign Japanese Slugger Munetaka Murakami To Two-Year Deal
Murakami is off the board.
The deadline for Japanese slugger Munetaka Murakami to sign with an MLB club was Monday, December 22, at 5 p.m. ET. When the baseball world woke up on Sunday with Murakami still unsigned, many began wondering whether the home run machine would actually just end up heading back to Japan for the 2026 season.
That all changed on Sunday morning. According to ESPN’s Jeff Passan (and other sources), Murakami is signing with the Chicago White Sox on a two-year, $34 million contract that doesn’t feature any opt-outs.
“Murakami, 25, was arguably the most fascinating player to hit free agency this winter,” Passan wrote for ESPN. “A 6-foot-2, 230-pound left-handed slugger with elite exit velocity, he was the youngest player on the market and heads to Major League Baseball with 246 home runs in his eight seasons for the Tokyo Yakult Swallows.”
Murakami established himself as one of NPB’s premier power hitters dating back to his 2018 debut. In addition to the 246 homers mentioned by Passan, Murakami produced 647 RBI and a .270/ .394/ .557 slash line across 892 games. His standout 2022 campaign saw him smash 56 homers (a record for Japanese-born players) while posting a 1.168 OPS and earning Central League MVP honors for the second time. Murakami’s consistent production includes four All-Star selections and strong defensive play at third base, with occasional shifts to first, where’s he’s expected to play in Chicago (per Passan).
In 2025, injuries curtailed his season to just 69 games, including 56 in the Central League. Despite elbow and oblique issues, he delivered impressive results, batting .286 with 24 home runs, 52 RBI, and a 1.051 OPS. His power remained elite, projecting to another 50-plus homer pace if healthy.
The largest concerns over Murakami relate to his strikeout rate and difficult hitting high-velocity pitching. We’ll know soon enough if those issues are going to rear their head at the MLB level.
According to Passan, “Murakami’s deal will cost the White Sox $40.575 million in total, with the Swallows receiving a $6.575 million posting fee to transfer him to Chicago.”
There was a lot of talk at the start of the offseason that Murakami was in line for a long-term contract amounting to nine figures. The two-year deal with Chicago suggests that Murakami’s market wasn’t as strong as initially believed. This positions the slugger to prove himself over the next two MLB seasons and re-enter the free-agent market in 2027 to once again pursue a long-term, lucrative contract.
