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Tomlin/Rodgers putting together one of the more unexpected seasons...amazing consistency.

Think Iguchi every time with that 5 but he was #15. Ray Durham lol. Pretty much the opposite of Murakami in every way except strikeouts.

Far too erotic...although much better than Hachi/ko (from A Dog's Tale.) Then there's another H for Hayao Miyazaki, the most famous Japanese animator who recently retired. Studio Ghibli/Totoro/Murakami Bobbleheads lol? SoxTalk Book Club.

Fegan and Longenhagen clocked in back at the end of October: Let’s Scout the Players Coming Over From Asia | FanGraphs Baseball

His stuff is pretty mediocre. He's more in-line with Sugano's ability. Imai is definitely the better talent between the two coming over from the NPB.

More like Sugano. Relies on finesse/odd speed stuff. What next, Senga changed his mind and is coming back to the US?

I'm calling him "Haruki" like the writer of Norwegian Wood, Kafka on the Shore, 1Q84 etc.

Plus the trade return in 2027 or QO at the worst if he's very good. Or Ishbia steps up and makes his first long-term investment that's not stadium related. A little reminiscent of the 2014 Abreu situation where only the Rockies needed a 1B...minus the control over a big portion of his career (for now).

Didnt he also miss a few games recently. Go Steelers

It was based on just 24 at bats or something like that...in 2025. Probably the majority came against Imai and elite relievers.

https://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/article/is-munetaka-murakami-a-bargain-at-34m-for-2-years-his-surprise-signing-with-white-sox-fits-nicely-in-chicagos-rebuild-191334685.html

But the post you cited wasn’t concern about the price; it was about giving him a starting job.

Also isn't he not very exciting?

Just got back from Vegas and saw the rumors during the Bears game. Awesome news! Seems like there's alot more moves in play here at the start of 2026.

And FanGraphs addresses that in their article I linked to above.

There's this post as well: The original report about him being terrible against velocity was incorrect.

I was luke warm on the prospect of signing this guy as there's a bunch of risk. I get it, they've certainly mitigated that risk. It's a fun signing to make a splash in the Asian market with, and maybe he did pick the White Sox over the Red based on a sober assessment of his weaknesses, and the White Sox presented a coherent plan to rectify his swing that could make him a pure monster. I now wonder if/how they plan to improve upon Luis Robert if they trade him. They don't have a lot of bWAR to make up (1.4).

I meant the Sox trading Robert for something of significance and then signing or trading for a different CF to replace him.

Who is trading an equal CF for Robert and why wouldn't they just keep the one they have?

If there’s a scenario where they can trade Robert for an actual return and then find AT LEAST an equivalent player to take his place in CF (Harrison Bader or something) then maybe. But if this scenario involves dumping his salary and having Derek Hill start, no thanks.

Maybe. $40 million is a lot of money to the White Sox, not so much money to the Red Sox.

Eh I think it’s reasonable. There is a decent chance Murakami is unplayable, but you won’t sign a hedge and have him “compete”. For Sox it’s a no brainer, but Red Sox have to worry about losing April / May to bad production before they can find a replacement.

We should call him El Caballo

A really good pricetag, awesome!👏 A really good pricetag, uh oh. 😕