White Sox make long overdue addition that will help them sign more players from Japan

The Chicago White Sox used to have a bit of a reputation for their international scouting. Marquee players like José Abreu, Alexei Ramírez, and Luis Robert Jr. are just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the White Sox history of making international signings out of Cuba.

They used to do it better than anyone. However, the White Sox have always been deficient when it comes to scouting and signing players out of Japan.

Tadahito Iguchi and Shingo Takatsu are the only two players the White Sox have ever signed directly out of Japan.

Ironically, both of those players contributed to the 2005 World Series team. Iguchi in particular was a huge success during the three seasons he spent in Chicago (.764 OPS).

With all of the MLB superstars coming over from Japan on a yearly basis, the White Sox are regularly missing out on a huge opportunity to tap into one of the best talent pools in baseball. Shohei Ohtani, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Seiya Suzuki, Shota Imanaga, and Masataka Yoshida are just a few of the many examples.

It’s not even the fact that the White Sox have failed to convert on those signings. It’s the fact that the White Sox haven’t tried. Chicago doesn’t even have a scout in Japan… but that’s all about to change.

White Sox hire scout in Japan

One of the aspects of the White Sox organization that GM Chris Getz attempted to overhaul after he was hired was the international scouting.

The organization parted ways with Marco Paddy and now David Keller, who is officially the Special Assistant to the GM in Chicago; was hired away from the New York Mets to run Chicago’s international scouting operation.

Keller spoke to White Sox media this week and gave some incredible reassuring updates about development in Japan and “the Far East market.”

"We’re still in the beginning stages of setting up an infrastructure that allows us to feel good about a process in acquiring those players," Keller told Scott Merkin of MLB.com in reference to Japan.

"I don’t believe that stops us from pursuing them. To the extent we pursue them, that will come back to Chris [Getz] and Josh [Barfield] and everybody else in the front office," Keller continued. "We recently hired a scout in Japan to scout the NPB for us. I was recently in Japan for 10 days and watching those players." (Merkin)

The White Sox could be players for Japanese talent in the future

Adding a scout in Japan to check out the top players in the NPB is long overdue, but I suppose it’s better late than never. Every White Sox fan should be hoping this leads to more free agent acquisitions from Japan in the future…perhaps as early as 2026, although that seems unlikely.

Munetaka Murakami is one of the hottest names in baseball right now and he’ll be one of the most coveted free agents this winter. Murakami hit 56 home runs as a 22-year-old playing in the NPB. He’s a corner infielder that’s still only 25 and is going to transform somebody’s lineup in 2026.

Obviously, there’s a natural fit there with the White Sox considering the team is starting to come out of a rebuild and needs to add more power bats. They also have a void at first base.

Even if it’s not Murakami in 2026, it’s good to know that the White Sox will begin to see first-hand just how talented some of the players in Japan are. Hopefully adding a scout in that area can give the front office more confidence to convert on those signings in the future.