Chicago White Sox have just secured one of the most powerful batters in the world, signing 25-year-old Japanese slugger Munetaka Murakami to a $34 million, two-year contract.
The deal was agreed on Sunday, and Murakami signed the contract on Monday during his media introduction at Rate Field. The agreement includes a $1 million signing bonus payable within 30 days and salaries of $16 million for 2026 and $17 million for 2027.
Murakami has compiled a .270 career batting average, 246 home runs and 647 RBIs in 892 games over eight seasons with the Yakult Swallows of Japan’s Central League.
His 2022 campaign was historic, as he belted 56 home runs, breaking Sadaharu Oh’s record for a Japanese-born player in Nippon Professional Baseball and becoming the youngest player to win Japan’s Triple Crown.
The 2023 season was cut short by an oblique injury, limiting him to 56 games in which he hit 24 home runs and drove in 47 runs.
Murakami said he has fully recovered and is ready to adjust to major-league pitching, stating he can improve his defense at first and third base quickly.
The White Sox finished last in the AL Central in 2025 with a 60-102 record, their third straight season with more than 100 losses, but they improved after the All-Star break, led by young hitters Colson Montgomery, Kyle Teel and Chase Meidroth.
General manager Chris Getz called Murakami “one of the most prolific power hitters on the planet” and said the team will support him and expect great production. He added, “This was a place that he can come in here and just be himself and be comfortable, establish himself at the major league level and we’ll see where the journey takes us,” and that “We’re going to support him and we’re going to get great production from him.” Getz also noted, “And yeah, there has been some conversation about contact and swing and miss,” adding, “Oftentimes swing-and-miss comes with a lot of the power.” He emphasized, “But what makes Munie so attractive to us is this power output. We’re talking about a guy that has some real, real firepower in the engine that makes Munie so special.”
Speaking through a translator, Murakami said, “I’m not really looking at this from a numbers standpoint. I really want to compete every day and face challenges. If I’m contributing to the team every night, every game, I feel that’s a success.”
The contract’s 2027 salary can increase based on awards earned in 2026: $1 million for an MVP, $500 000 for second or third place, $250 000 for fourth through tenth and $250 000 for Rookie of the Year.
He cannot be assigned to the minor leagues without his consent, will become a free agent at the end of the contract, and receives a team-provided interpreter and flight reimbursement between Japan and the U.S.
Murakami will be the fourth Japanese-born player to wear a White Sox uniform, joining pitcher Shingo Takatsu (2004-05), second baseman Tadahito Iguchi (2005-07) and outfielder Kosuke Fukudome (2012). Takatsu managed him in Japan.
Murakami has connected with other Japanese players adjusting to the majors, including outfielder Seiya Suzuki and left-hander Shota Imanaga of the Cubs.
The White Sox had been scouting Murakami for years; the deal fell into place quickly, and Getz noted, “Quite honestly, I don’t think it’s set in just yet, to think about him in the lineup on a regular basis.”
With a posting fee of $6,575,000 paid to Yakult and a supplemental 15 % fee on any escalators, the White Sox have invested heavily in a player they believe will bring immediate firepower to a rebuilding roster, and fans now await his first Major League at-bat.
