🔗 Share this article

In a significant move for their overhauling roster, the South Side team have signed Japanese star Munetaka Murakami, finalizing a two-year contract bringing in the high-profile player.

Contract Details and Player Perks

The agreement includes a $1 million signing bonus, payable within 30 days, alongside annual pay of $16M for the next season and $17 million for the 2027 year.

Notably, Murakami's final-year pay may grow based on performance achievements in 2026:

• $1 million for winning the league MVP award.
• Half a million dollars for placing in the top three in MVP voting.
• $250K for finishing fourth through 10th.
• $250,000 for winning the Rookie of the Year honor.

His deal also stipulates that he cannot be sent to the minors without his permission and makes him a unrestricted player at the termination of the term. Further benefits include a club-supplied interpreter and airfare between Japan and the U.S..

Posting Fee and Franchise History

As part of the acquisition, Chicago owes a transfer fee of roughly $6.58 million to the Yakult Swallows, Murakami's former team in Japan's Central League. The Yakult organization would also receive a supplemental fee of any triggered performance bonuses.

Murakami is set to become the fourth Japanese-born to play for the South Siders, joining pitcher Shingo Takatsu (2004-05), infielder Tadahito Iguchi (2005-07), and fielder Kosuke Fukudome (2012). Notably, Takatsu was a manager for Murakami while both were in Japan.

Player Profile

Murakami, a left-handed hitter who will turn 26 soon, bolsters a young group of offensive players in Chicago that also features prospects like Colson Montgomery, Kyle Teel, and Chase Meidroth. The club are coming off a 60-102 season, finishing at the bottom in the American League Central but showing a significant improvement from the previous campaign.

The winner of back-to-back Most Valuable Player honors in 2021 and 2022, Murakami is famous for a record-breaking 2022 season where he hit 56 HRs, breaking the all-time record for a player in Japan previously held by icon Sadaharu Oh. That year also made him the youngest player ever to win Japan's prestigious batting Triple Crown.

His most recent NPB campaign was limited to just 56 appearances due to an side strain. Even with recording 64 times, he batted .273 with 22 HRs and 47 RBIs.

Over his career tenure with the Swallows, Murakami has posted a .270 career batting average with 246 homers, 647 runs batted in, and nearly 1,000 strikeouts in 892 games. Initially playing primarily at first, he has spent most of his time to the hot corner.

Global Stage Success

Murakami's heroics were on full display during the 2023 WBC. In the penultimate game against Mexico, he drove in a victory-sealing double that drove in Shohei Ohtani and Masataka Yoshida for a dramatic 6-5 win. The following day in the title match against the Team USA, he blasted a equalizing home run in the second inning, paving the way for Japan's eventual title triumph.

The power hitter is scheduled to be unveiled at a press conference on Monday.