Munetaka Murakami headshot

Munetaka Murakami News: Inks deal with White Sox

Written by RotoWire Staff

Updated on December 21, 2025 at 7:34am

Murakami agreed to a two-year, $34 million contract with the White Sox on Sunday, Jeff Passan of ESPN.com reports.

The 25-year-old's 45-day negotiating window was coming to an end Monday, but he was able to land a multi-year deal with Chicago shortly before the deadline. Murakami posted a .945 OPS and averaged 33 homers across eight seasons in Nippon Professional Baseball, so he'll bring some much-needed power to the White Sox lineup. However, he had a 28.5 percent strikeout rate over the past three years in Japan, so the swing-and-miss in his stroke is a concern as he adjusts to major-league pitching. According to Passan, Murakami is expected to play first base for Chicago after seeing most of his action at the hot corner in NPB.

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