This supplied photo shows Japanese slugger Munetaka Murakami. (Kyodo)


NEW YORK (Kyodo) — Japanese slugger Munetaka Murakami has agreed to join the Chicago White Sox on a two-year contract worth $34 million, the team announced Sunday.


The 25-year-old Murakami is a two-time Central League MVP with the Yakult Swallows and became Japan’s youngest Triple Crown winner at 22 in 2022 when he slugged 56 home runs, the second-most in a single Nippon Professional Baseball season.


The Kumamoto Prefecture native spent his entire NPB career with the Swallows after joining the Tokyo club in 2018 as their top draft pick.


In Chicago, he will wear the No. 5 jersey, according to MLB.com, after wearing 55 for the Swallows.


“I am happy to be in Chicago,” Murakami said on the team’s official X account, after introducing himself as “Mune.”


Murakami contributed to Japan’s World Baseball Classic title in 2023, including a solo home run in the 3-2 victory over the United States in the championship game.


The infielder had to recover from an upper-body injury this year but still finished third on the CL home run list, belting 22 over 56 games.


While he has primarily played third base for Yakult, a recent MLB.com report said most U.S. clubs viewed him as a first baseman.


The Swallows agreed to let Murakami seek a Major League Baseball deal and posted him this offseason. A Japanese player can make the move either as a free agent or a posted player, whose NPB club receives a fee based on his contract amount if he signs with an MLB team.


The south Chicago franchise will be hoping Murakami can change its fortunes after three consecutive 100-loss seasons, with the team also to bolster its lineup with the top pick in the upcoming 2026 draft.


In 2024, the White Sox set a new single-season record for the most losses with 121 and finished last in the American League’s Central Division in 2025.


The last time the White Sox won a World Series, one of three in total, was in 2005. That squad featured two Japanese players, second baseman Tadahito Iguchi and pitcher Shingo Takatsu, though the latter was traded during the season.