Japanese slugger Munetaka Murakami joins the team. Chicago White Soxbecoming the home run record holder in Nippon Professional Baseball, and a rebuilding team making its first free-agent splash in years.
The White Sox announced the addition of Murakami on Sunday, with sources telling ESPN that the two sides agreed to a two-year contract worth $34 million.
Murakami, 25, may have been the most exciting player to become a free agent this winter. A 6-foot-2, 230-pound left-handed slugger with elite exit speed, he was the youngest player on the market and is now heading to Major League Baseball after hitting 246 home runs in eight seasons with the Tokyo Yakult Swallows.
He has become a star in Japan since hitting 36 home runs as a 19-year-old in 2019. He followed that up with 56 home runs in 2022, breaking the record for a Japanese-born player set in 1964. Sadaharu O. Murakami, a two-time Central League MVP, missed time last season with an oblique injury but hit 22 home runs in 56 games with a slash line of .273/.379/.663.
While projections that Murakami would hit the financial jackpot preceded his free agency, concerns about his defense (he can play third or first base) and his tendency to swing and miss on zone pitches led to a slower-than-expected market ahead of Monday's 5:00 pm ET signing deadline.
Although teams tried to make long-term, lower-value deals, Murakami opted for a short-term, higher-value offer, allowing himself to prove his ability to adapt to superior pitching in MLB.
If he does, Murakami will hit the market again at 27 and be ready to cash in on a mega-deal, much as other free agents in recent seasons with softer-than-expected markets have turned short-term contracts into long-term paydays.
Murakami's jump in strikeout rate over the last three years (over 28% each season) and his 72.6% zone hit percentage (which would be the second-lowest in MLB this year) illustrate a potential shortcoming in his offensive game. But San Francisco Giants batter Rafael Devers remains productive with high income levels, and Chicago saw an opportunity to attract talent it wouldn't normally have access to, with low wages and a prospect accumulation mentality.
Murakami's 90th percentile exit velocity would be fifth in MLB, his maximum exit velocity would be 12th, and his strike rate would be first. For a White Sox team with two of the most losing seasons in MLB history, the addition of Murakami to a lineup that includes promising young hitters at shortstop. Colson Montgomerycatchers Kyle Teale And Edgar Keroinfielder Miguel Vargasand second baseman Chase MeiiToth brings even more hope after winning the draft lottery at the winter meetings.
The overwhelming favorite to take the top spot in July's draft is UCLA's Roch Cholowski, giving the White Sox a potential abundance of young infielders in the coming years.
Whether Murakami takes first or third, he will be in the middle of a White Sox lineup desperate for power. With 165 home runs last season, the White Sox finished 14th out of 15 American League teams, ahead of Kansas City Royals. In eight seasons with the Swallows after his debut as an 18-year-old, Murakami hit .270/.394/.557 with a walk rate of over 16% and a strikeout rate of about 26%.
Highlights of his home runs have long been circulating on the Internet in anticipation of Murakami's arrival in the MLB. He played a vital role in Japan's victory at the 2023 World Baseball Classic, hitting the game-winning double in the ninth inning of the semifinal victory over Mexico.
Chicago saw this version of Murakami and would add him to perhaps the most unique roster in baseball, with five players signed – Murakami, Louis Robert Jr. ($20 million) Andrew Benintendi ($17.1 million), Anthony Kay ($5 million) and Derek Hill ($900,000) – Neither is arbitration eligible and the remainder is around the major league minimum.
Murakami's deal will cost the White Sox $40.575 million in total, with the Swallows receiving a $6.575 million fee for bringing him to Chicago.
ESPN's Keely McDaniel contributed to this report.
