White Sox’s reason for Munetaka Murakami blunder revealed

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White Sox’s reason for Munetaka Murakami blunder revealed

Originally posted on ChiCitySports | By Matthew Schmidt | Last updated May 21, 2026 11:17 AM ET

Chicago White Sox first baseman Munetaka Murakami has already established himself as one of the MLB’s most dangerous hitters two months into his big-league career.

Murakami is slashing .244/.382/.552 with 17 home runs and 33 RBI over 212 plate appearances this season, and while he has struck out 69 times, he has mitigated that with his prodigious power and terrific walk rate.

It’s still early, and pitchers still need some time to learn the Japanese slugger, but it’s looking more and more like the rest of the league missed on Murakami. And that may include the White Sox themselves, as they only signed the 26-year-old to a two-year, $34 million contract.

Chicago could always try and sign Murakami to an extension, but that will certainly prove easier said than done with how much interest he is almost surely to draw once he hits the free-agent market two winters from now (barring a major collapse at the plate, of course).

So, what was the reason for the White Sox’s short-term deal? Bleacher Report’s Kerry Miller thinks he knows the answer.

Chicago White Sox’s Munetaka Murakami flub is easily explainable

May 19, 2026; Seattle, Washington, USA; Chicago White Sox first baseman Munetaka Murakami (5) talks with third baseman Miguel Vargas (20) before the third inning against the Seattle Mariners at T-Mobile Park. Mandatory Credit: Joe Nicholson-Imagn Images

In a piece where Miller listed one offseason regret for each major-league team, not signing Murakami to a longer-team pact was his choice for Chicago.

Miller certainly isn’t the first person to pose such a question for the South Siders, but his justification was entirely understandable, if not incredibly likely.

“Chicago would’ve had to pay a larger posting fee for a longer commitment to a slugger whose swing maybe wasn’t going to translate to Major League Baseball, while Murakami maybe didn’t want to ink a long-term deal with a franchise that had suffered 324 losses over the past three seasons,” Miller wrote.

Let’s be real here: the White Sox were far from the only ballclub that had reservations about Murakami. In fact, they obviously had less doubt than the other 29 teams considering they were the ones that actually signed him, so it’s hard to fault Chicago too much here.

Do the Sox now wish they took more advantage of the opportunity? Probably. Inking Murakami to something like a four-year deal would have been preferable given his current level of production, but again, the jury is still out on the lefty masher.

If Murakami continues to destroy baseballs, then yes; this will end up being a pretty big gaffe by the White Sox.

This article first appeared on ChiCitySports and was syndicated with permission.

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