How Chicago White Sox are Trying to Copy the Los Angeles Dodgers

Logos for the Los Angeles Dodgers and Chicago White Sox on display at their Spring Training stadium at Camelback Ranch. | Camelback Ranch

Given the foothold the Los Angeles Dodgers have established in Japan over recent years, it was assumed they would factor heavily in the pursuit of Munetaka Murakami after he was posted by the Yakult Swallows.

Murakami's market instead remained relatively soft and he didn't end up signing until the eve of his posting window closing. He landed with the Chicago White Sox on a two-year, $34 million contract without the Dodgers ever becoming too involved.

The Dodgers' interest in Murakami, or lack thereof, paled in comparison to their pursuits of Shohei Ohtani, Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Roki Sasaki. Much of that is believed to have stemmed from not having a clear roster spot or role for Murkamai, a corner infielder who also figures to spend time at designated hitter for the White Sox.

White Sox following Dodgers' lead

The Dodgers were in the midst of renovating the home clubhouse at Dodger Stadium when Sasaki was posted for MLB free agency, and at his request, installed Japanese toilets.

Having an upscale toilet inside the clubhouse was also requested by Murakami, and White Sox general manager Chris Getz said the organization was more than happy to oblige, perScott Merkin of MLB.com.

“One thing that stood out, one thing he did notice is I think we didn’t have a bidet in our locker room,” general manager Chris Getz told MLB.com. “That’s something that’s new to him, and we are putting one in. So, it was like, ‘Ok, that’s new. We can do that.’”

The White Sox further are looking to mirror the Dodgers by expanding their presence in Japan as well now that Murakami signed.

“You look at what the Dodgers have done. They have the unicorn in [Shohei] Ohtani. They also have [Yoshinobu] Yamamoto and [Roki] Sasaki,” said White Sox executive vice president Brooks Boyer, who recently traveled to Japan for the team. “Those Dodger games are distributed significantly back to Japan, which makes that a very attractive product to the Japanese sponsorship market.

“When you talk about Murakami, being a Triple Crown winner in Japan, being a hero in the last [World Baseball Classic], being young, there’s a lot of interest in Japan for our games that will go back there. That opens some unique opportunities.

“The Cubs have taken advantage of this with [Shota] Imanaga and [Seiya] Suzuki, and we are just kind of following the Dodgers playbook,” Boyer added. “How to best extend our brand to the Japanese market, which obviously draws interest from Japanese-based sponsors.”

Dodgers president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman and manager Dave Roberts have both mentioned the organization's desire to "paint" Japan in Dodger Blue. That has been accomplished not only by signing Ohtani, Yamamoto and Sasaki since late 2024, but also with their contributions to back-to-back World Series titles.

Of course, the Dodgers' footprint throughout the Pacific Rim began with the signing of Hideo Nomo. That made Nomo the first Japanese-born player in MLB history.

The Dodgers' efforts in Japan also extend beyond player signings as they launched an official fan club that is only available to residents in the countr