The White Sox are adding a major power bat to their lineup, reaching agreement on a two-year, $34 million contract with Japanese slugger Munetaka Murakami, a source told MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand on Sunday. The team has not confirmed the deal.
Murakami was posted by the Swallows on Nov. 7, opening a 45-day window the next day for all 30 MLB clubs to negotiate with the 25-year-old lefty slugger, giving him until Monday at 5 p.m. ET to reach an agreement.
Because he’s already turned 25 and has played eight seasons in Japan, Murakami was not subject to the international bonus pool restrictions that Roki Sasaki was when he signed with the Dodgers out of NPB last offseason. But he still had to be posted by Yakult because he had not yet reached the nine-season threshold to be an unrestricted free agent.
Murakami was the most feared slugger in Japan, where he became one of NPB’s biggest superstars over his eight seasons with the Swallows.
Murakami won back-to-back MVP Awards in NPB in 2021 and ’22, and he was a four-time All-Star and the ‘19 Central League Rookie of the Year. He led the Swallows to an NPB championship in ‘21.
Not to mention, Murakami’s 2022 season is one of the greatest all-around hitting seasons — but especially power-hitting seasons — in baseball history.
Murakami will begin his MLB career coming off a 2025 season in which he was limited to 56 games due to an oblique injury. But once he returned, he looked the best he had since that historic 2022 season. Murakami slugged 22 home runs in those 56 games — an even higher home run pace than in 2022 — while batting .273 with a .663 slugging percentage and 1.043 OPS.
Murakami joins an ever-growing list of Japanese stars to jump to MLB in recent seasons, which has included other star hitters like Masataka Yoshida, Seiya Suzuki and of course, Shohei Ohtani.
“He has legit power,” one scout told MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand. “It should translate to the Majors.”
Murakami has hit 246 home runs since his NPB debut as an 18-year-old in 2018. Murakami had five 30-homer seasons for the Swallows, and he averaged 45 home runs per 162 games played. In his NPB career, Murakami posted a .270/.394/.557 slash line with a .951 OPS in 892 games.
His high ceiling as a superstar lefty slugger made Murakami one of the most anticipated free agents on the market this winter. But he was also one of the most polarizing.
That’s because Murakami’s strikeout totals and swing-and-miss rates have spiked since his monster 2022 season, while his walk rates and on-base percentage have declined, sparking concerns about his ability to make enough contact in the Major Leagues to take advantage of his tremendous power. Murakami in particular had issues against the higher-velocity fastballs and the wipeout breaking and offspeed pitches he’ll see more of in MLB.
There are also some questions about Murakami’s defense. Murakami played both corner infield positions in Japan — mainly third base, but also first base — but he might spend more time at DH in the Majors. But elite young international power bats with Murakami’s upside don’t come around all that often.
Murakami did have some big moments against MLB pitching in the 2023 World Baseball Classic, where he helped lead Japan to a gold medal. In the championship game against the U.S., Murakami crushed a 115.1 mph, 432-foot home run off then-D-backs right-hander Merrill Kelly. He also ripped a 111.0 mph walk-off double off the wall against then-Cardinals reliever Giovanny Gallegos to complete Japan’s comeback win over Mexico in the semifinals.
In the Majors, Murakami will look to follow in the footsteps of sluggers like Ohtani, who has the most home runs by a Japanese-born player in MLB with 280 entering 2026, and Hideki Matsui, who ranks second with the 175 he hit in his 10-year career.
