Why the White Sox might be the perfect fit for Munetaka Murakami

The deadline for Japanese slugger Munetaka Murakami to sign with a Major League team is on the horizon. His posting window will close on Monday the 22nd at 5 PM EST while his market is still quite the mystery. 

Murakami is one of the greatest hitters in recent memory from the Nippon Professional Baseball League in Japan to take his talents stateside. Across seven seasons and some change, he hit 246 home runs and posted a .951 OPS for his career. With those numbers, it’s obvious why MLB organizations have had their eyes on Murakami for a number of years now. However, Murakami’s strikeout problem has raised some red flags. 

In each of his last three seasons, Murakami’s strikeout rate has jumped north of 28%. Considering the level of MLB pitching is a step above NPB pitching, those strikeout numbers become concerning. Because of this, teams aren’t as excited by the idea of signing Murakami to a mega-contract and that has shown in the lack of buzz around his free agency thus far. At this point in the offseason, he’s more likely to get a deal closer to Masataka Yoshida’s $90 million contract than Yoshinobu Yamamoto’s record breaking $325 million contract for Japanese free agent.

Munetaka Murakami has become more affordable to a number of teams

The interesting thing about Murakami’s market is that while his stock isn’t nearly as high as it was a few years ago when it was apparent he would be looking to make the transition to MLB, the amount of teams that could feasibly land him have grown. As the posting window deadline approaches, it’s more than likely Murakami’s asking price has become more affordable for teams who otherwise would not have been in the conversation.

One of those unassuming teams happens to be the Chicago White Sox. They have recently been linked to Murakami and their chances to land him become better as his posting window continues to close.

A contract handed out to Murakami would likely break the franchise record for largest contract handed out by the White Sox in free agency. Andrew Benintendi holds the current record at $75 million across five years. If Chicago’s front office was willing to give that type of deal to Benintendi, let’s not act like they wouldn’t be willing to dish out a little more for a high risk-high reward player like Murakami. 

Fortune hasn’t been in the White Sox favor for a number of years now, but they are approaching a stretch in which they could start turning a corner. They have drafted well during this current rebuild and have already started reaping the benefits.

The White Sox might have one of the brightest futures in baseball

Shortstop Colson Montgomery had an excellent first stint of Major League Baseball in 2025 while catchers Kyle Teel and Edgar Quero showed promise on the big league roster as rookies as well. On the pitching side of things, Shane Smith emerged in 2025 as a legitimate arm that has the chance to stick around. Noah Schultz and Hagen Smith are two left-handed pitching prospects that both have the upside to be aces at the next level. 

As far as position player prospects go, the White Sox don’t have a shortage of those either. Braden Montgomery has All-Star upside in the outfield while Caleb Bonemer and Billy Carlson, recent high school draft picks, will be knocking on the door sooner than later. They also own the first overall pick in the 2026 MLB draft and are likely to select Roch Cholowsky who is expected to move very quickly through the minors.

If the White Sox were to add Munetaka Murakami, he would immediately become one of the top power hitters in a lineup that is only going to get better. The White Sox don’t currently present themselves as a desirable free agent destination for high ticket players, so signing Murakami could be a stepping stone in becoming that destination for free agents down the road. Not to mention, signing arguably the biggest international free agent on the open market could ignite some life into a fanbase desperate for it.

Murakami fits in well with the current roster and with the roster of the future. At a discount compared to the other stars on the free agent market, adding Murakami with proper development could end up being quite the steal for the South Siders.