NEW YORK – Japanese slugger Munetaka Murakami has agreed to join the Chicago White Sox on a two-year contract worth $34 million, American sports channel ESPN reported Sunday.
The 25-year-old Murakami is a two-time Central League MVP with the Yakult Swallows and became Japan’s youngest Triple Crown winner at 22 in 2022 when he slugged 56 home runs, the second-most in a single Nippon Professional Baseball season.
The Kumamoto Prefecture native has spent his entire career with the Swallows after joining the Tokyo club in 2018 as their top draft pick.
He contributed to Japan’s World Baseball Classic title in 2023, including a solo home run in the 3-2 victory over the United States in the championship game.
The infielder had to recover from an upper-body injury this year but still finished third on the CL home run list, belting 22 over 56 games.
While he has primarily played third base for Yakult, a recent MLB.com report said most U.S. clubs viewed him as a first baseman.
The Swallows agreed to let Murakami seek a Major League Baseball deal and posted him this offseason. A Japanese player can make the move either as a free agent or a posted player, whose NPB club receives a fee based on his contract amount if he signs with an MLB team.
AloJapan.com