In the end, the idea of the Seattle Mariners signing Munetaka Murakami was all smoke and no fire. And what smoke there was always felt kind of fake, like what comes from that "smoke machine" your try-hard neighbor uses to make his house look spooky on Halloween.
As reported by ESPN's Jeff Passan, Murakami is signing with the Chicago White Sox on a two-year, $34 million contract. The deal comes a day before his posting window was due to close, with Passan further noting that the Japanese slugger is expected to play first base on the South Side.