The Chicago White Sox were able to sign one of the most coveted international free agents on the market this winter. Munetaka Murakami is only 26 years old and has played eight seasons of professional baseball in his native Japan. In those eight years, Murakami hit .273/.394/.550 with 265 home runs and 722 RBI.
As a member of the White Sox, Murakami is going to primarily play first base, a position he was familiar with in Japan. That being said, nearly 75% of his games in Japan were spent playing third base, so he will likely see time there as well in Chicago.
Indeed, Murakami brings an exciting power bat to the offensively-starved White Sox lineup. So much so that he has been named one of 20 rookies to watch in the 2026 MLB season.
Chicago White Sox 1B Munetaka Murakami named rookie to watch in 2026
Feb 20, 2026; Mesa, Arizona, USA; Chicago White Sox third baseman Munetaka Murakami (5) hits a single against the Chicago Cubs in the third inning at Sloan Park. Mandatory Credit: Rick Scuteri-Imagn Images
In his recent article in which he listed 20 rookies to watch in 2026, Jim Bowden of The Athletic, included Murakami, writing:
“Murakami, 26, is also making the jump from Nippon Professional Baseball to MLB. He has legitimate plus power but also had significant contact issues in Japan. That said, despite the high strikeout totals in Japan, he had a career on-base percentage of .394. He’s a below-average defender at third, but should be at least adequate at first, where he is expected to play for Chicago.
“He’s a fascinating player to watch as his comparables from scouts have ranged from Dave Kingman to Joey Gallo to Max Muncy to Luke Voit to Matt Olson to Rafael Devers and even to Kyle Schwarber. He’s probably somewhere in the middle but none of us will know until he shows us.”
The strikeout totals that Bowden references were a reason many MLB teams did not show much interest in signing him. In 2024, for example, Murakami struck out 180 times in
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