Japanese baseball player Munetaka Murakami officially joins the MLB signing system

• Murakami will be available for signing contracts until December 22.
• He set a record for the most home runs for Japanese players.
• His contract is expected to be worth a nine-digit sum.

Japanese infielder Munetaka Murakami joins the MLB signing system. Starting at 8:00 AM Eastern Time on Saturday, November 8, he will be available for signing contracts until December 22.

Murakami, who will turn 26 on February 2, is the MVP of the Central League in 2021 and 2022, and has also been a four-time participant in the All-Star game. In this season, he played only 56 games due to injury, but managed to hit 22 home runs and 47 RBIs with an average of .273.

In 2022, Murakami set a record for the most home runs by a Japanese player, surpassing 56. Over his career in NPB, he has 246 home runs, 647 RBIs, and 977 strikeouts in 892 games.

At the World Baseball Championship 2023, he helped Japan win in both the semifinals and finals, hitting crucial home runs.

According to the agreement between MLB and NPB, teams that sign players are required to pay a certain posting fee, which is 20% of the first $25 million of the contract.

Tags: Sport/Baseball