White Sox's Updated Lineup, Payroll After Munetaka Murakami Reportedly Signs Contract

The Chicago White Sox added some serious power to their lineup on Sunday by agreeing to a two-year, $34 million contract with Japanese star Munetaka Murakami, according to ESPN's Jeff Passan.

The 25-year-old has hit 246 home runs and slugged .557 across eight seasons in Nippon Professional Baseball.

Assuming Miguel Vargas will continue to occupy the hot corner in the Windy City, Murakami could become the White Sox's everyday first baseman:

Chicago White Sox Projected Starting Lineup

• Catcher: Kyle Teel
• First Baseman: Munetaka Murakami
• Second Baseman: Chase Meidroth
• Third Baseman: Miguel Vargas
• Shortstop: Colson Montgomery
• Left Field: Andrew Benintendi
• Center Field: Luis Robert Jr.
• Right Field: Brooks Baldwin
• Designated Hitter: Lenyn Sosa

When accounting for Murakami's salary, FanGraphs projects Chicago to have an $84 million payroll in 2026.

Murakami had a strikeout rate above 28 percent in five of his NPB seasons, per FanGraphs. MLB.com's David Adler also pointed to the lefty's whiff rate, which was consistently around 30-plus percent since 2022.

"Such a high swing-and-miss rate and strikeout rate in Japan is not good — when NPB sluggers come to MLB, their contact numbers already tend to get worse," Adler said. "And Murakami's whiff rate and K% would have both been among the highest in MLB in 2025."

Still, the power numbers speak for themselves. He set a single-season record in 2022 with 56 home runs, and he had just 22 through 56 games in 2025.

The White Sox are hedging their bets by signing Murakami to a two-year contract.

If the concerns about his contact rate prove to be well-founded, then his deal isn't one that will linger on Chicago's books for a long time. In the worst-case scenario, his salary may not be too burdensome for another team that's willing to bet on his upside for the 2027 season.

Therein lies the risk from the White Sox's perspective, however.

Given his age, Murakami fits on a team that will be counting on a lot of young homegrown talent. Chase Meidroth, Kyle Teel, Colson Montgomery and Edgar Quero are all 24 or younger. Chicago would have the long-term foundation for its lineup in place.

But if Murakami is as good as his performance suggests, he'll be heading toward an even bigger payday after two years, and the White Sox will have stiff competition to re-sign him.