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In a major move for their overhauling roster, the South Side team have welcomed infielder Munetaka Murakami, finalizing a lucrative contract with the accomplished player.

Financial Terms and Added Benefits

The deal grants a substantial signing bonus, payable within 30 days, in addition to annual pay of $16 million for the upcoming season and seventeen million for the final year.

Importantly, Murakami's 2027 salary may grow based on award achievements in 2026:

• A seven-figure bonus for winning the MVP award.
• $500K for finishing second or third in MVP voting.
• $250K for placing in the top ten.
• An identical bonus for earning the ROY honor.

His deal provides that he will not be optioned to the farm system without his permission and allows him to become a unrestricted player at the conclusion of the term. Additional perks include a club-supplied interpreter and travel costs between the U.S. and Japan.

Posting Fee and Team Legacy

As part of the transaction, Chicago owes a posting fee of over $6.5 million to the Tokyo Yakult Swallows, Murakami's former team in Japan's professional league. The Yakult organization get a 15% cut of 15% triggered performance bonuses.

Murakami joins the ranks as the fourth Japanese-born to play for the South Siders, joining reliever Shingo Takatsu (2004-05), infielder Tadahito Iguchi (2005-07), and outfielder Kosuke Fukudome (2012). Notably, Takatsu once managed Murakami while both were in Japan.

On-Field Accomplishments

Murakami, a left-side batter who turns 26 on February 2nd, enters a promising group of offensive players in Chicago that contains prospects like Colson Montgomery, Kyle Teel, and Chase Meidroth. The team are finished with a last-place season, placing last in the American League Central but showing a 19-game improvement from the year before campaign.

A two-time Most Valuable Player honors in 2021 and 2022, Murakami made history with a record-breaking 2022 season where he hit 56 home runs, breaking the single-season record for a player in Japan formerly held by icon Sadaharu Oh. That feat also made him the youngest player ever to secure Japan's prestigious Triple Crown.

His last year was limited to a partial schedule due to an side strain. Even with recording 64 Ks, he still managed .273 with 22 home runs and 47 RBIs.

Over his eight-season tenure with the Swallows, Murakami has posted a .270 lifetime batting average with 246 homers, 647 runs batted in, and nearly 1,000 strikeouts in 892 games. He started playing mostly at first, he has since transitioned to the hot corner.

Global Stage Success

Murakami's clutch hitting were on full display during the 2023 World Baseball Classic. In the penultimate game against Mexico, he drove in a victory-sealing double that drove in teammates for a come-from-behind 6-5 victory. The very next day in the final against the Team USA, he slugged a equalizing homer in the early innings, helping Japan's subsequent championship win.

The lefty slugger is scheduled to be formally introduced at a media availability on Monday.