In a significant move for their overhauling roster, the South Side team have signed slugger Munetaka Murakami, finalizing a two-year contract for the accomplished player.
Financial Terms and Added Benefits
The deal grants a substantial signing bonus, payable within 30 days, in addition to compensation of $16 million for the upcoming season and $17 million for the following year.
Additionally, Murakami's final-year pay is subject to escalators based on performance achievements in 2026:
- $1 million for winning the Most Valuable Player award.
- Half a million dollars for finishing as runner-up or in third place in MVP voting.
- A quarter-million for placing in the top ten.
- Another $250,000 for earning the Rookie of the Year honor.
The contract provides that he cannot be sent to the minor leagues without his consent and allows him to become a free agent at the termination of the deal. Further benefits include a club-supplied interpreter and airfare between the U.S. and Japan.
Posting Fee and Franchise History
As part of the transaction, Chicago must pay a compensation payment of roughly $6.58 million to the Tokyo Yakult Swallows, Murakami's previous team in Japan's professional league. The Yakult organization would also receive a additional payment of any triggered incentive payments.
Murakami joins the ranks as the fourth-ever player from Japan to play for the South Siders, following reliever Shingo Takatsu (2004-05), second baseman Tadahito Iguchi (2005-07), and outfielder Kosuke Fukudome (2012). Interestingly, Takatsu previously coached Murakami during their time in Japan.
On-Field Accomplishments
Murakami, a lefty bat who will turn 26 in February, joins a emerging group of offensive players in Chicago that also features prospects like Colson Montgomery, Kyle Teel, and Chase Meidroth. The club are finished with a 60-102 season, finishing at the bottom in the AL Central but showing a notable improvement from the prior campaign.
Having earned Most Valuable Player honors in '21 and '22, Murakami made history with a record-breaking 2022 season where he hit 56 HRs, breaking the all-time record for a Japanese-born player formerly held by icon Sadaharu Oh. That performance also made him the most youthful hitter ever to win Japan's coveted batting Triple Crown.
His last year was shortened to just 56 appearances due to an side strain. Despite recording often, he hit .273 with 22 home runs and 47 runs batted in.
Over his eight-season tenure with the Yakult club, Murakami has accumulated a .270 lifetime batting average with 246 HRs, 647 RBIs, and 977 Ks in nearly 900 games. He started playing primarily at first, he has more recently played to third base.
WBC Heroics
Murakami's big-game performance were on full display during the last World Baseball Classic. In the semi-final against Mexico, he hit a walk-off two-base hit that scored Shohei Ohtani and Masataka Yoshida for a thrilling 6-5 win. The next night in the championship game against the United States, he slugged a tying shot in the early innings, helping Japan's subsequent title triumph.
The lefty slugger is scheduled to be unveiled at a media availability on Monday.
