Who is Munetaka Murakami? Meet Team Japan star turned White Sox slugger
· Yahoo Sports
Japanese slugger Munetaka Murakami has already made his mark at the World Baseball Classic, hitting a game-tying home run against Team USA in the WBC championship in 2023. He's returning to Team Japan in 2026, ahead of his MLB debut.
Visit cat-cross.com for more information.
Murakami signed a two-year contract with the Chicago White Sox in the offseason after a record-breaking run in the Nippon Professional Baseball, the top league in Japan. He hit an NPB-record 56 home runs for a Japanese-born player in 2022 and hit 36 home runs as a 19-year-old in the league.
Murakami has been a hyped future MLB addition for years, with numerous teams awaiting him being posted by the NPB. His value has taken a hit recently, though, due to his swing-and-miss concerns.
Murakami's power is elite, but he struck out more than 28% of the time in each of his last three seasons. It'll be interesting to see how he transitions to the major leagues, as he has the potential to be among the best power hitters in the sport, especially if he can keep the strikeouts from ballooning out of control.
Here's everything to know of Murakami, one of Japan's top stars:
Munetaka Murakami contract
Murakami singed a two-year deal worth $34 million total with the White Sox during the offseason. Murakami, still 26 years old, opted for the short-term deal to prove himself before potentially testing free agency again after the 2027 season.
Signing Murakami cost the White Sox $40.575 million total, as they paid his former team, the Yakult Swallows, a $6.575 million transfer fee for his services.
He signed on Sunday, Dec. 21, a day before the deadline for him to sign with an MLB team. The market for his services was lower than what many projected a few years ago, due to his swing-and-miss tendencies and defensive concerns.
Still, hitting cures all wounds. And if Murakami can settle to MLB pitching, he'll be due a huge deal in 2027.
Munetaka Murakami stats
Here's a look at Murakami's year-by-year slash lines in NPB, where he played eight seasons with the Yakult Swallows:
- 2018: 18 home runs with 72 RBIs in 377 at-bats (.281 BA/.383 OBP/.485 SLG)
- 2019: 36 home runs with 95 RBIs in 511 at-bats (.231/.332/.481)
- 2020: 28 home runs with 86 RBIs in 424 at-bats (.307/.427/.585)
- 2021: 39 home runs with 112 RBIs in 500 at-bats (.278/.408/.566)
- 2022: 56 home runs with 134 RBIs in 487 at-bats (.318/.458/.710)
- 2023: 31 home runs with 84 RBIs in 496 at-bats (.256/.375/.500)
- 2024: 33 home runs with 86 RBIs in 500 at-bats (.244/.379/.472)
- 2025: 24 home runs with 52 RBIs in 220 at-bats (.286/.392/.659)
Munetaka Murakami age
Murakami is 26 years old, which is much younger than when most NPB players are available to MLB teams. Murakami was a year short of the required nine years of professional experience to gain international free agency, meaning he had to request to be posted by NPB.
He'll still be 27 years old when he becomes a free agent again in 2027.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Meet Team Japan star Munetaka Murakami turned White Sox slugger