White Sox are counting on Japanese slugger Munetaka Murakami to add pop to their lineup

CHICAGO (AP) — White Sox left-hander Anthony Kay spent the past two years in Japan pitching for the Yokohama DeNA BayStars and got a good look at Munetaka Murakami in the opposing batter's box.

The Japanese slugger brings some much-needed pop to Chicago's lineup, and Kay looks forward to seeing the impact Murakami has on their new team.

“He was not fun to face,” Kay said.

Though he wasn't on hand, Murakami was a big topic of conversation at the White Sox fan festival this weekend. He got a big ovation when his name was announced on Friday, and he was featured in a video that he wrapped up by saying “Go White Sox!”

Chicago expects Murakami, who turns 26 on Monday, to deliver in a big way after signing a $34 million, two-year contract in late December. He hit .270 with 246 homers and 647 RBIs in 892 games over eight seasons with the Yakult Swallows of Japan’s Central League.

The left-handed-batting corner infielder launched 56 home runs in 2022 to break Sadaharu Oh’s record for a Japanese-born player in Nippon Professional Baseball while becoming the youngest player to win the triple crown there. He hit more than 30 homers four straight years before an oblique injury limited him last season.

Murakami finished 2025 with 24 homers and 47 RBIs in 56 games. He said at his introductory news conference in Chicago that he has recovered and is ready to show what he can do in the majors.

The White Sox are looking forward to it, too.

“I was excited,” shortstop Colson Montgomery said. “I knew who he was because I watched him in the World Baseball Classic and I saw him tear it up. The fact that we have him on our team, I'm happy about that. I'd rather him be on our team than anyone else's. I think I could just tell the excitement that he had. You can kind of see that he’s very excited to be with this core group that we have and be able to just go out there and win games.”

Murakami came through with some big hits to help Japan win the 2023 World Baseball Classic. His game-ending double off Giovanny Gallegos drove in Shohei Ohtani and Masataka Yoshida for a 6-5 semifinal win over Mexico. The following day in the championship game, Murakami hit a tying home run off Merrill Kelly in the second inning and Japan went on to beat the United States 3-2.

Murakami is joining a team with three straight 100-loss seasons and back-to-back last-place finishes in the AL Central. The White Sox went 60-102 last year, though they also made a 19-game improvement from 2024, when they finished 41-121 and set a modern-era major league record for losses.

Chicago was second to last in the American League with 165 home runs last season. But with Murakami joining a promising core of young hitters that includes Montgomery, Kyle Teel and Chase Meidroth, the White Sox expect to have more pop.

“Obviously, the power is real,” manager Will Venable said. “We’ve seen that from afar. But he’s just somebody that’s really committed to getting better. I think that’s been really apparent in the communication that we’ve had with him. He talks a lot about his defense. He wants to be a great baserunner, and so just to be on the ground floor with him and go to work and see him go about his business is going to be really exciting.”

One knock against Murakami is his contact and strikeout rates. He struck out 977 times in 3,780 plate appearances over eight seasons with Yakult, but he also had a .557 slugging percentage and 614 walks.

“He does hit a lot of homers,” Kay said. “He didn't have any problem with the velocity I had. I don't understand why he can't have a lot of success over here. There will probably be an adjustment period for him. Pitchers might be able to figure him out for a little bit, but he's a good enough hitter where he can also make adjustments.”

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