With money to spend and a glaring need for left-handed power, the White Sox may be positioned to make a splash with Japanese superstar Munetaka Murakami.
Well before free agency opened and the offseason officially arrived, Munetaka Murakami was already making headlines in Japan.
Murakami was a first-round selection in the 2017 NPB Draft out of high school and quickly lived up to the hype. He was named Central League Rookie of the Year in 2019 after hitting 36 home runs as a 19-year-old.
He later became the youngest player in NPB history to reach 100 career home runs. Murakami went on to win the Central League MVP Award in both 2021 and 2022 — the latter season culminating in a historic Triple Crown, when he batted .318 with 56 home runs and 134 RBIs.
Those 56 home runs remain a Japanese single-season record. That’s the level of unprecedented power we’re talking about here.
And from the moment Murakami began drawing international attention — as a 2020 Olympic gold medalist and a key contributor to Japan’s 2023 World Baseball Classic championship (including a home run off Team USA’s Merrill Kelly in the title game) — his eventual transition to Major League Baseball has felt inevitable.
Now, that moment has arrived.
Murakami was officially posted by the Tokyo Yakult Swallows and will sign with an MLB team this winter. His 45-day negotiating window expires Monday, at which point he must make a decision.
And according to ESPN, that decision could land him with the Chicago White Sox.
That outcome seemed unlikely earlier this offseason. Murakami was widely expected to draw heavy interest from baseball’s biggest spenders, and it’s no secret the White Sox aren’t built to win bidding wars against teams like the Dodgers, Mets, or Yankees.
But as the offseason has unfolded, some evaluators have raised concerns about Murakami’s offensive profile — particularly his ability to handle premium velocity after moving stateside.
Are those concerns legitimate? Only time will tell. What’s clear, however, is that fewer teams have been consistently linked to Murakami as the winter has progressed. That could create the perfect storm for Chicago to take a calculated risk on a player who checks nearly every box on their wish list.
The White Sox need a first baseman of the future. They need power. And general manager Chris Getz has made it clear that adding a left-handed bat is a priority this offseason.
ESPN’s David Schoenfield echoed those points in his column projecting landing spots for the top remaining free agents.
“Murakami's deadline to sign is Dec. 22, so we're running out of time. His market still seems wide open,” Schoenfield wrote. “Indeed, if any of these top 10 free agents land in a surprising spot, Murakami might be the one. The White Sox have money to spend — their current estimated payroll is just $68 million, and that includes $20 million for Luis Robert Jr., who might be traded. They have a desperate need for power, and Murakami fits at either third or first, depending on where Miguel Vargas ends up. This would be a nice roll of the dice for a White Sox team that looks to be on the rise.”
Murakami’s projected contract currently sits around five years and $80 million. That would represent the largest contract in White Sox history, but even if he settles in as a 30-home-run, .800 OPS hitter in the majors, he’d be significantly underpaid at roughly $16 million per season.
That kind of commitment might feel unfamiliar for Chicago — but it’s not unprecedented.
The White Sox signed José Abreu to a six-year, $68 million deal when he arrived from Cuba more than a decade ago. Abreu was only slightly older than Murakami is now when he was first introduced on the South Side.
Historically, the White Sox have anchored their best lineups with cornerstone first basemen — Frank Thomas, Paul Konerko, and later Abreu.
That’s one of the most glaring omissions from the current young core. There’s no power-hitting first baseman to stabilize the middle of the order.
Maybe Murakami is the answer.
And beyond the on-field fit, there’s potential financial upside as well. With growing interest from Japan in Major League Baseball — and more Japanese stars making the jump annually — Murakami could bring added international visibility and revenue to the organization. Even a notoriously rigid businessman like Jerry Reinsdorf can appreciate that appeal.
By Monday, the White Sox — and the rest of baseball — will have their answer.