Starter Davis Martin saw the international impact instantly after the Chicago White Sox added Japanese slugger Munetaka Murakami.
“I think we signed him and three days later I had someone from Japan send me my baseball card,” Martin said Friday at the Ramova Theatre in Bridgeport.
Murakami has been the most buzzed-about move this offseason for the Sox. The signing of the two-time Nippon Professional Baseball Japanese Central League Most Valuable Player — who is in Japan finishing his visa application process — was a popular topic of conversation Friday at SoxFest Live, receiving a nice ovation from fans when his name was mentioned.
“I knew who he was because I watched him in the World Baseball Classic and I saw him tear it up,” shortstop Colson Montgomery said. “The fact that we have him on our team, I’m happy about that. I’d rather him be on our team than anyone else’s.
“I could just tell the excitement that he had with this group. You could see he’s very excited to be with this core group that we have.”
That group offensively includes returning players such as Montgomery, second baseman Chase Meidroth, catchers Kyle Teel and Edgar Quero and third baseman Miguel Vargas.
“I think you look at the guy — you look at his highlights in the 2023 WBC, you look at what he can do for a lineup — as a starting pitcher you’re drooling,” Martin said. “This guy can change the game in any swing at any time. To stick that in the lineup in between Teel, in between Meidroth, in between Colson, (Lenyn) Sosa, it’s kind of hard not to get fired up to watch it. We’re really excited. I think he’s going to fit right in and it’s going to be a lot of fun getting to know him and talk to him a lot.”
Murakami was featured in a video-highlight reel during Friday’s event, which included a message largely in Japanese from the first baseman. He wrapped up in English, saying “Go White Sox!”
“He just wants to get to Arizona,” general manager Chris Getz said Thursday. “This guy, he’s all about baseball. He’s working daily on his body, his craft, his offensive ability, his defensive ability. It’s really about getting to Arizona, getting comfortable with his surroundings.
“I have the utmost confidence that he’s going to be very comfortable with our group. I know that they chose us because of this young, developing group and knew that he was going to fit in seamlessly. And I anticipate that happening.”
-
New Chicago White Sox player Munetaka Murakami walks onto the field during a press conference at Rate Field on Monday, Dec. 22, 2025, announcing his acquisition. (Eileen T. Meslar/Chicago Tribune)
1 of 14
New Chicago White Sox player Munetaka Murakami walks onto the field during a press conference at Rate Field on Monday, Dec. 22, 2025, announcing his acquisition. (Eileen T. Meslar/Chicago Tribune)
Murakami, 25, joins the Sox after hitting 246 home runs over the last eight seasons with the Tokyo Yakult Swallows.
“Obviously the power is real, we’ve seen that from afar,” manager Will Venable said Thursday. “But he’s just someone that’s really committed to getting better. I think that’s been really apparent in the communication we’ve had with him.
“He talks a lot about his defense, he wants to be a great baserunner. Just to be on the ground floor with him and go to work and see him go about his business is going to be really exciting.”
Montgomery said Murakami will help the lineup “a lot.” The Sox hit 165 home runs last season, finishing 23rd in the majors. They were eighth in the big leagues in that department after the All-Star break with 89.
“He’s a guy that’s going to help us hit homers and I feel like the way the game is going, you’ve got to be able to hit some homers,” said Montgomery, who had 21 home runs in 71 games during his rookie season last year. “He’s going to bring a lot to our lineup, and I’m really excited.”
The Sox signed Murakami on Dec. 21, one of three two-year deals the team completed this offseason. The added starter Anthony Kay on Dec. 9 and finalized a deal with reliever Seranthony Domínguez on Thursday.
“I’m really happy to get an opportunity to be there and be with the team — a great city and great fans,” Domínguez said during a videoconference call Friday afternoon. “They are working to get better.”
Kay spent the last two seasons in Japan with the Yokohama BayStars, where he saw plenty of Murakami.
“Murakami’s a beast, I think he’s going to be really good over here,” Kay told the Tribune on Friday. “I faced him a bunch my first year, he had some success off of me. Thankfully I was able to keep him in the yard, but he had a lot of singles and doubles. I’m looking forward to him being on my team now.”
Martin, in general, liked the direction of the team’s offseason moves.
“I’d type in ‘White Sox’ every two or three weeks, kind of see what we were doing in the offseason,” he said. “Every time we’d sign one of these guys, you immediately know what kind of role they can fill and where they can fit in with our team. I think every single one of them is going to be a cornerstone of what we need to do and we have a lot of things going in the right direction.
“Those guys can boost the momentum that we already have.”
:quality(70)/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/tronc/ZA7PYLMOW2T7USYHW3NEBFB5TI.jpg)
