The Christmas Miracle?

🔥THE SHORT HOP

Was it the Christmas miracle?

No bidding war.
No jaw-dropping commitment.

Just Munetaka Murakami… to Chicago.

The Japanese slugger — once viewed as a potential franchise-altering bat — signed a two-year, $34 million deal with the White Sox. That’s it.

A Triple Crown winner at 22 — 56 homers, 134 RBIs, .318 average — the kind of numbers that should’ve sent MLB front offices scrambling.

And yet… mostly crickets.

So credit Chicago.

A franchise starving for relevance just added a legitimate middle-of-the-order bat without mortgaging the future. Pair that with the No. 1 pick in the 2026 draft, and—yes—this finally looks like a reset with direction.

As for Murakami, this was the smart pivot.

When the mega-deal didn’t materialize, he adjusted. Took the shorter contract. Bet on himself. Two years to prove he belongs — not as a curiosity, but as a force.

If it clicks, he hits free agency again at 27, right in his prime.

Sometimes the biggest moves don’t make the loudest noise.

Sometimes they just show up in Chicago.

John Boxley
High N Tight