White Sox $34 million contract looks like steal to start 2026 MLB season
Chicago took a risk where others wouldn't.
White Sox $34 million contract looks like steal to start 2026 MLB season originally appeared on The Sporting News . Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here . Other MLB teams decided Munetaka Murakami was too risky.
Not the Chicago White Sox , though. They were willing to take the risk that Murakami's swing-and-miss wouldn't overshadow his prodigious power. That meant that in the offseason, Murakami cost just $34 million on a two-year deal, not nine figures on a much longer-term contract.
So far, Murakami is looking like he was worth the gamble for Chicago. "Murakami didn’t land the huge contract some had forecasted when he was posted this winter, signing a two-year, $34 million deal with the White Sox," MLB. com's Mark Feinsand wrote in a new article on Wednesday .
"A number of talent evaluators wondered how the slugger would adapt to big league pitching, while his defense at first base was another lingering question. Through 10 games, Murakami has been a revelation for Chicago, hitting four home runs with an . 892 OPS in his first 42 plate appearances while making the White Sox an international story.