White Sox sign Japanese slugger Munetaka Murakami

Coming off a thrilling Bears win over the Packers on Saturday, White Sox fans woke up to a pleasant surprise Sunday.

A source confirmed to the Sun-Times that the Sox signed Japanese slugger Munetaka Murakami to a two-year, $34 million deal, bringing him to the United States from Nippon Professional Baseball. Murakami is the fourth Japanese-born player to join the Sox and the first since Kosuke Fokudome in 2012. He will be introduced Monday at Rate Field.

It’s the Sox’ first significant signing under general manager Chris Getz, who added a 25-year-old with immense power. Murakami hit 246 home runs in eight seasons in Japan, including a record 56 in 2022. He also fits the timeline of the team’s young core of position players. Getz doesn’t want to block the development paths of any of the Sox’ young players

“You look at the roster right now with some of these young players, and you want to continue to see how things play out with them and continue to develop those players and see what level of impact that they can make,” Getz said this month at the winter meetings. “You certainly don’t want to create any sort of disruption in their development. Finding additions to this club just remains a focus, and it’s an easier access point using free agency. We’re going to continue to add, find creative ways to build this team.”

The Sox can put Murakami at first base or DH and are in the right phase of their rebuild to take a chance on him.

Murakami’s market cooled because of his free swinging and defensive concerns. He also had an oblique injury that limited him to just 56 games last season in the Central League, and he had elbow surgery in 2024. ESPN once projected that he could have received a five-year, $80 million deal. The Sox’ payroll is clean outside of Andrew Benintendi’s contract.

Teams have shown that they’re unwilling to shell out huge money for sluggers who are either poor defenders or don’t play premium positions. All-Star Pete Alonzo settled for a two-year, $54 million contract with an opt-out last offseason that he exercised this offseason to ink a five-year, $155 million deal with the Orioles.

It’s not often that the Sox sign a player of Murakami’s talent, even with his red flags. New hitting coach Derek Shomon will have work to do to see if he can cut Murakami’s strikeout and chase rates. Murakami also has to show that he can hit high-velocity pitches.

Getz was opportunistic with the deal, and Murakami can take advantage of its short term by proving himself and earning another, more lucrative deal, most likely elsewhere.

In the meantime, the Sox hope to take advantage of Murakami’s upside. Coming off winning the 2026 MLB Draft lottery, the Sox have positive momentum for the first time in years. No longer is Getz solely tearing down the roster for prospects. He’s finally adding to the team in hopes of taking the next step in the rebuild.