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In a notable move for their retooling roster, the American League club have signed slugger Munetaka Murakami, completing a two-year contract with the high-profile player.

Contract Details and Added Benefits

The contract features a $1 million signing bonus, to be paid within 30 days, in addition to annual pay of $16 million for the 2026 season and seventeen million for the following year.

Additionally, Murakami's compensation can increase based on accolade achievements in 2026:

• $1 million for earning the Most Valuable Player award.
• Half a million dollars for placing second or third in MVP voting.
• $250K for ranking fourth through 10th.
• An identical bonus for earning the top rookie honor.

The agreement also stipulates that he cannot be sent to the minor leagues without his consent and allows him to become a unrestricted player at the termination of the term. Additional perks include a team-provided interpreter and travel costs between the U.S. and Japan.

Compensation and Team Legacy

As part of the acquisition, Chicago must pay a posting fee of over $6.5 million to the Tokyo Yakult Swallows, Murakami's previous team in Japan's NPB. The Japanese club would also receive a supplemental fee of fifteen percent triggered incentive payments.

Murakami will become the fourth player from Japan to represent the White Sox, following pitcher Shingo Takatsu (2004-05), infielder Tadahito Iguchi (2005-07), and fielder Kosuke Fukudome (2012). Interestingly, Takatsu once managed Murakami while both were in Japan.

Career Highlights

Murakami, a lefty bat who will turn 26 in February, bolsters a emerging group of offensive players in Chicago that includes prospects like Colson Montgomery, Kyle Teel, and Chase Meidroth. The club are coming off a 60-102 season, finishing last in the AL Central but showing a significant improvement from the previous campaign.

Having earned Central League MVP honors in consecutive seasons, Murakami made history with a record-breaking 2022 season where he launched 56 home runs, surpassing the longstanding record for a Japanese-born player previously held by legend Sadaharu Oh. That performance also made him the youngest player ever to win Japan's elusive batting Triple Crown.

His most recent NPB campaign was shortened to a partial schedule due to an side strain. Despite striking out 64 times, he hit .273 with 22 homers and 47 runs batted in.

Over his career tenure with the Swallows, Murakami has posted a .270 lifetime batting average with 246 homers, 647 runs batted in, and 977 Ks in nearly 900 games. He started playing primarily at first, he has spent most of his time to third base.

International Pedigree

Murakami's heroics were on full display during the 2023 WBC. In the penultimate game against Mexico, he delivered a victory-sealing double that drove in Shohei Ohtani and Masataka Yoshida for a come-from-behind 6-5 victory. The very next day in the final against the United States, he blasted a equalizing home run in the second inning, helping Japan's subsequent championship win.

The lefty slugger is scheduled to be unveiled at a introductory event on Monday.