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In a major move for their overhauling roster, the American League club have welcomed Japanese star Munetaka Murakami, completing a $34 million contract with the power-hitting player.

Deal Structure and Added Benefits

The contract grants a $1 million signing bonus, payable within 30 days, combined with annual pay of $16M for the 2026 season and seventeen million for the final year.

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

• $1 million for earning the Most Valuable Player award.
• $500K for placing as runner-up or in third place in MVP voting.
• $250K for placing fourth through 10th.
• $250,000 for earning the ROY honor.

The contract also stipulates that he will not be optioned to the minor leagues without his consent and grants him a free agent at the conclusion of the term. Further benefits include a dedicated interpreter and airfare between the U.S. and Japan.

Posting Fee and Franchise History

As part of the acquisition, Chicago must pay a transfer fee of $6,575,000 to the Swallows, Murakami's longtime team in Japan's NPB. The Yakult organization are also entitled to a supplemental fee of fifteen percent triggered salary escalators.

Murakami joins the ranks as the fourth player from Japan to represent the White Sox, joining reliever Shingo Takatsu (2004-05), infielder Tadahito Iguchi (2005-07), and fielder Kosuke Fukudome (2012). Notably, Takatsu previously coached Murakami during their time in Japan.

Career Highlights

Murakami, a left-side batter who turns 26 on February 2nd, enters a emerging core of hitters in Chicago that also features prospects like Colson Montgomery, Kyle Teel, and Chase Meidroth. The team are finished with a difficult season, placing at the bottom in the AL Central but showing a 19-game improvement from the prior campaign.

A two-time league MVP honors in '21 and '22, Murakami is renowned for a record-breaking 2022 season where he hit 56 homers, surpassing the single-season record for a Japanese-born player previously held by legend Sadaharu Oh. That performance also made him the most youthful hitter ever to win Japan's prestigious Triple Crown.

His 2023 season was shortened to a partial schedule due to an oblique injury. Despite recording 64 Ks, he hit .273 with 22 HRs and 47 runs batted in.

Over his eight-year tenure with the Swallows, Murakami has accumulated a .270 batting average with 246 homers, 647 RBIs, and 977 strikeouts in 892 games. Early in his career playing mostly at first base, he has since transitioned to third.

Global Stage Success

Murakami's clutch hitting were on center stage during the 2023 WBC. In the penultimate game against Mexico, he drove in a victory-sealing two-base hit that brought home two fellow Japanese stars for a dramatic one-run win. The very next day in the title match against the United States, he hit a equalizing shot in the second inning, paving the way for Japan's eventual title triumph.

The lefty slugger is scheduled to be formally introduced at a press conference on Monday.