On Sunday, the Chicago White Sox came to terms with Japanese slugger Munetaka Murakami. Despite being projected to get more than $100 million in free agency, Murakami gets just two years and $34 million.
That’s a deal that the St. Louis Cardinals could have – and should – have made.
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Still just 25 years old, Murakami is the biggest enigma of this free agent class. He has age and power on his side, but there have been major questions about his ability to make contact, especially against high-velocity pitchers.
He hit .318 in 2022 with 56 home runs for the Yokult Swallows, but he’s seen his average regress to .256 in 2023 and .244 in 2024. He hit .273 in 2025, but he only played 56 games because of injury.
He had 31 home runs in 2023 and 33 in 2024. He struck out 64 times in just 56 games this past season, an average of more than one strikeout per game. He still had 24 homers in that limited sample size.
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He was also a part of Japan’s World Baseball Classic winning roster in 2023.
Clearly, the questions about his swing-and-miss were abundant, causing teams to be scared of giving him a big deal. So, he goes to a non-contending team where he’ll play every day and he’ll have a chance to iron out some of his issues and some of the concerns.
His defense is also a question mark, and he’ll get a chance to hone that while playing first base for the Sox.
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If he does those things well? He’ll end up hitting free agency again at 27 years old and he’ll have a chance to cash in big time.
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They get a player with a ton of upside, similar to when they brought Jose Abreu over from Cuba, as they look to make in-roads on their rebuild. He’ll pair with the likes of Kyle Teel, Colson Montgomery and Chase Meidroth as part of Chicago’s exciting position player core.
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Furthermore, the White Sox will have a potential great trade chip at this deadline, next offseason, or next deadline.
All the same reasons as Chicago did it, frankly. If the Cardinals are successfully able to move Nolan Arenado, he could have played third base. If they can move Willson Contreras, he could have played first base.
If he liked St. Louis, they would have had a leg up on giving him a second contract in free agency.
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