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In a notable move for their retooling roster, the American League club have signed infielder Munetaka Murakami, finalizing a lucrative contract for the high-profile player.

Financial Terms and Incentives

The contract includes a substantial signing bonus, payable within 30 days, alongside salaries of $16 million for the upcoming season and $17 million for the final year.

Importantly, Murakami's compensation can increase based on performance achievements in 2026:

• A seven-figure bonus for earning the league MVP award.
• $500,000 for finishing second or third in MVP voting.
• $250K for finishing fourth through 10th.
• An identical bonus for earning the top rookie honor.

The agreement provides that he cannot be sent to the minors without his approval and grants him a free agent at the termination of the contract. Further benefits include a club-supplied interpreter and airfare between the U.S. and Japan.

Transfer Payment and Team Legacy

As part of the acquisition, Chicago is obligated to provide a transfer fee of $6,575,000 to the Swallows, Murakami's former team in Japan's NPB. The Swallows get a additional payment of fifteen percent triggered salary escalators.

Murakami is set to become the fourth Japanese to represent the White Sox, joining reliever Shingo Takatsu (2004-05), infielder Tadahito Iguchi (2005-07), and fielder Kosuke Fukudome (2012). Notably, Takatsu once managed Murakami while both were in Japan.

Career Highlights

Murakami, a lefty bat who turns 26 in February, joins a emerging lineup in Chicago that also features prospects like Colson Montgomery, Kyle Teel, and Chase Meidroth. The White Sox are finished with a last-place season, finishing at the bottom in the division but showing a notable improvement from the year before campaign.

The winner of back-to-back Central League MVP honors in 2021 and 2022, Murakami is renowned for a record-breaking 2022 season where he launched 56 HRs, breaking the longstanding record for a Japanese-born player previously held by icon Sadaharu Oh. That feat also made him the youngest player ever to win Japan's coveted Triple Crown.

His last year was limited to just 56 appearances due to an muscle issue. Even with recording 64 Ks, he batted .273 with 22 HRs and 47 driven in.

Over his career tenure with the Yakult club, Murakami has compiled a .270 career batting average with 246 HRs, 647 runs batted in, and 977 Ks in 892 contests. Initially playing mainly at first, he has more recently played to third.

WBC Heroics

Murakami's big-game performance were on global view during the 2023 World Baseball Classic. In the semifinal against Mexico, he drove in a game-ending two-base hit that drove in Shohei Ohtani and Masataka Yoshida for a come-from-behind one-run win. The very next day in the title match against the USA, he slugged a game-tying home run in the second inning, paving the way for Japan's 3-2 3-2 victory.

The lefty slugger is set to be formally introduced at a introductory event on the coming Monday.