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In a notable move for their retooling roster, the South Side team have welcomed slugger Munetaka Murakami, finalizing a two-year contract bringing in the high-profile player.

Financial Terms and Added Benefits

The deal includes a seven-figure signing bonus, issued within 30 days, in addition to salaries of $16M for the next season and seventeen million for the final year.

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

• An additional $1M for earning the Most Valuable Player award.
• $500,000 for finishing as runner-up or in third place in MVP voting.
• $250,000 for finishing in the top ten.
• $250,000 for winning the top rookie honor.

His deal includes that he will not be optioned to the farm system without his permission and grants him a free agent at the termination of the contract. Additional perks include a team-provided interpreter and flight reimbursement between the U.S. and Japan.

Compensation and Franchise History

As part of the transaction, Chicago owes a transfer fee of roughly $6.58 million to the Yakult Swallows, Murakami's previous team in Japan's professional league. The Swallows would also receive a 15% cut of 15% triggered performance bonuses.

Murakami joins the ranks as the fourth-ever Japanese to suit up for the Chicago franchise, joining reliever Shingo Takatsu (2004-05), second baseman Tadahito Iguchi (2005-07), and fielder Kosuke Fukudome (2012). Of note, Takatsu previously coached Murakami back in Japan.

Player Profile

Murakami, a left-side batter who will turn 26 soon, enters a promising lineup in Chicago that includes prospects like Colson Montgomery, Kyle Teel, and Chase Meidroth. The club are finished with a last-place season, finishing at the bottom in the division but representing a notable improvement from the year before campaign.

Having earned league MVP honors in '21 and '22, Murakami is famous for a record-breaking 2022 season where he launched 56 HRs, surpassing the all-time record for a player in Japan previously held by legend Sadaharu Oh. That feat also made him the youngest player ever to win Japan's coveted Triple Crown.

His most recent NPB campaign was curtailed to just 56 appearances due to an oblique injury. Despite fanning 64 times, he hit .273 with 22 home runs and 47 runs batted in.

Over his eight-season tenure with the Swallows, Murakami has accumulated a .270 batting average with 246 home runs, 647 runs batted in, and nearly 1,000 strikeouts in nearly 900 games. Initially playing primarily at first, he has spent most of his time to the hot corner.

WBC Heroics

Murakami's clutch hitting were on center stage during the 2023 World Baseball Classic. In the penultimate game against Mexico, he hit a walk-off two-base hit that drove in two fellow Japanese stars for a thrilling 6-5 win. The very next day in the final against the Team USA, he blasted a game-tying home run in the early innings, setting the stage for Japan's eventual title triumph.

The lefty slugger is slated to be officially presented at a media availability on Monday.