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In a significant move for their rebuilding roster, the South Side team have signed Japanese star Munetaka Murakami, completing a $34 million contract for the high-profile player.

Contract Details and Player Perks

The deal features a substantial signing bonus, to be paid within 30 days, combined with salaries of sixteen million for the next season and $17M for the following year.

Notably, Murakami's final-year pay can increase based on accolade achievements in 2026:

• $1 million for earning the MVP award.
• Half a million dollars for finishing second or third in MVP voting.
• $250,000 for finishing fourth through 10th.
• An identical bonus for earning the top rookie honor.

His deal also stipulates that he cannot be sent to the minors without his permission and allows him to become a free agent at the end of the contract. Extra provisions include a dedicated interpreter and travel costs between his home country and the States.

Compensation and Historical Context

As part of the signing, Chicago must pay a transfer fee of over $6.5 million to the Tokyo Yakult Swallows, Murakami's former team in Japan's NPB. The Swallows are also entitled to a supplemental fee of fifteen percent triggered incentive payments.

Murakami is set to become the fourth-ever player from Japan to play for the White Sox, in the footsteps of pitcher Shingo Takatsu (2004-05), second baseman Tadahito Iguchi (2005-07), and fielder Kosuke Fukudome (2012). Notably, Takatsu was a manager for Murakami during their time in Japan.

Career Highlights

Murakami, a left-handed hitter who will turn 26 soon, enters a promising lineup in Chicago that contains prospects like Colson Montgomery, Kyle Teel, and Chase Meidroth. The team are coming off a difficult season, placing at the bottom in the AL Central but showing a 19-game improvement from the year before campaign.

A two-time Central League MVP honors in '21 and '22, Murakami is famous for a monumental 2022 season where he launched 56 homers, breaking the single-season record for a NPB hitter formerly held by icon Sadaharu Oh. That performance also made him the youngest player ever to win Japan's elusive Triple Crown.

His most recent NPB campaign was curtailed to just 56 appearances due to an oblique injury. Despite fanning often, he hit .273 with 22 homers and 47 RBIs.

Over his eight-season tenure with the Yakult club, Murakami has compiled a .270 career batting average with 246 HRs, 647 RBIs, and 977 strikeouts in 892 contests. Initially playing primarily at first, he has more recently played to the hot corner.

WBC Heroics

Murakami's heroics were on global view during the last World Baseball Classic. In the semifinal against Mexico, he drove in a victory-sealing double that scored Shohei Ohtani and Masataka Yoshida for a thrilling 6-5 win. The following day in the final against the USA, he hit a tying shot in the early innings, helping Japan's 3-2 3-2 victory.

The new White Sox addition is scheduled to be officially presented at a introductory event on Monday.