White Sox leave door open for Dodgers to sign Japanese slugger after short-term deal

Whenever there's a big Japanese star looking to come stateside, you can expect the Los Angeles Dodgers to be lurking. When Munetaka Murakami was officially posted, it was expected that the Dodgers would at least sniff around.

They didn't really have a spot for him. The soon-to-be 26-year-old has mostly been a (poor) third baseman, and many believed he'd move to first base in the majors. The Dodgers exercised their option on Max Muncy, giving him another year manning the hot corner. Freddie Freeman, of course, is going nowhere.

Murakami's billed to have prodigious power, and there was a thought that would be enough for the Dodgers to take a chance on him and figure out the logistics of such an acquisition later. That would have been quite the gamble, with many experts projecting a contract in the neighborhood of $200 million at the outset.

However, as the process moved on, more and more came out about the holes in Murakami's game. His strikeout rate has spiked in recent years, and his contact rate against fastballs is concerningly low. As the winter dragged on, his market cooled significantly, and the Dodgers were never linked to him officially, outside of a dinner date with Yoshinobu Yamamoto.

With his posting window set to close, Murakami has come to terms, having to settle for a deal with the Chicago White Sox. For the Dodgers, that's the best possible outcome, and the dream of Murakami crushing dingers in Los Angeles is far from over.

Munetaka Murakami signing with the White Sox could help him eventually wind up with the Dodgers

The deal with the White Sox is just two years for $34 million, a far cry from what the eight-year, $180 million contract MLB Trade Rumors had predicted for him.

In Chicago with the lowly White Sox, Murakami will get to ease into what is a multi-faceted transition, adapting to the culture and the increase in competition outside of the bright spotlight, and with little expectations.

If he succeeds, he'll hit free agency again at just 28 years old, giving him the opportunity to cash in on the mega-deal he was once thought to get this time around.

And that's where the Dodgers can strike. Murakami is good friends with Yamamoto, and once he's proven himself worthy in the majors, the Dodgers' ace can serve as a key recruiter. It's also important to note that by the time Murakami is a free agent, both Muncy and Freddie Freeman's contracts will be up in LA.

In many ways, this is the best-case scenario for the Dodgers. Murakami either lives up to the original appraisal of his skills and potential, at which point he prices himself out of the stingy White Sox budget, and the Dodgers can flex their might, Japanese connection, and leverage his good friend as a recruiting tool.

Or, he flops completely, and the Dodgers will have learned that they dodged a bullet. For Los Angeles, it's a win-win situation, even if it means delaying gratification for a couple of years.