TODAY: Murakawmi has a Grade 2 hamstring strain and will miss 4-6 weeks, Venable told SoxMachine’s James Fegan and other reporters. Chicago officially placed Murakami on the 10-day IL today, and selected infielder Jacob Gonzalez (as reported yesterday) to take his spot on the active roster.
MAY 29: The White Sox’s dramatic win tonight over the Tigers didn’t come without a cost. Munetaka Murakami left the game with right hamstring tightness. Manager Will Venable said postgame that while the team was still awaiting testing results, the rookie slugger could miss a couple weeks (relayed by Scott Merkin of MLB.com).
Murakami tweaked his hamstring in the third inning. He hustled to beat out a potential double play ball and favored his leg after getting through the bag. Venable said postgame they believe there’s a strain and will know more about the severity after tomorrow’s imaging. Miguel Vargas kicked over to first base to finish the game. Colson Montgomery slid from shortstop to third base, while Luisangel Acuña handled short.
It halts a phenomenal start to Murakami’s big league career. He easily leads rookies with 20 home runs, tying him with Yordan Alvarez for second in MLB behind Kyle Schwarber. The strikeout concerns that were oft-mentioned haven’t stopped him from being one of baseball’s most feared sluggers. Murakami is hitting .240/.378/.560 over his first 246 plate appearances.
Vargas hit a two-run, walk-off shot against Drew Anderson with two outs in the tenth inning. That pushed the Sox to a season-high three games above .500. They’re only three games back of the Guardians in the AL Central and currently occupy the second Wild Card spot.
The Sox will reportedly bring up infield prospect Jacob Gonzalez tomorrow as the corresponding move. Vargas seems likely to handle everyday first base duties for a few weeks. Gonzalez and Montgomery would get the majority of the playing time on the left side of the infield. Acuña can pick up occasional middle infield work, while second baseman Chase Meidroth is also able to slide to the other side of the bag.
Jacob Gonzalez time
Gonzalez had just as many home runs in the same amount of plate appearances in AAA as Murakami did in MLB. Key will be if Jacob can have the plate discipline
lol.
Im excited to see the 15th pick in the draft who has been absolutely hammering AAA pitching this year. 62 RBI’s in 52 games.
And, he plays SS.
FUUUUUUDDDDDGGGGGE!!!
(except i really didnt want to say fudge)
Worst news in White Sox history
Lmao
Excellent!
Thighs – I remember the Black Sox Scandal, that was worse.
Worse than LaRussa coming out of retirement?
Why should I watch baseball now
That last sentence. Kudos to them.
Why would he slide? That would look silly. Why not just walk over there? Oh well.
He’s been a great story this season. Hopefully it’s minor. Good move taking him out before he hurts it worse.
Enjoy watching him. Hope he’s back to 100% soon.
Hopefully he’s out for a short time, need his moon shots to keep the team momentum going.
God, why can’t we all just have nice things? Murakami’s a player I’m pulling for to succeed in MLB. Been keeping tabs on him since he reached that NPB homer record.
Considering how rough the schedule gets shortly, this sucks.
If the pitching can stay sharp (limit Fedde please to mopup only), they still have a decent chance to win some ballgames this/next couple series if Murakami setback isn’t too lengthy.
Murakami is one of my favorite and most respected players in the game. He’s the only one in the AL that can catch up to Alvarez in terms of HR. He was really fun competition, and now while I don’t want a player to get injured or suffer setbacks, this could be Yordan’s chance to pull away.
Anyways, get well soon, Muentaka.
Judge not lest he be Judged. What about that HR guy from the Yankees? Judge, Rice … the competition is still there. Bit yeah it sucks.
Correction, the biggest competition.
Did that say wild card spot? In May, really? Like maybe we should start running commercials for Christmas presents already. Where do we stand in the draft lottery position anyway? You know, like if the season ended 2 months after it started…
The season is about 1/3 the way through. Where teams stand re the wildcard has been mentioned numerous times ever since the 1/4 mark. Is it relevant to the final standings? No. It is however a checkpoint in the season. There’s no need to overreact to the reference.
No,the CHRISTMAS ads won’t be on until LABOR DAY.
Article lists “Jordan Gonzalez”. It’s Jacob, but let’s hope he’s next Jordan in Chicago.
It’s Jacob’s b-day today too, let’s have a day kid!
4 to 6 weeks??????? Nooooooo!!!!!!!!
Maybe now Judge can get his homerun lead back!😆I do not wish injury on most any player, Murakami seems like a great guy and player. Doesn’t deserve a prolonged injury absence like this.
Goodbye rookie of the year.
yam – Agreed, it will likely be Tolle or Early now.
Still disappointing, I was rooting for the ChiSox to make the playoffs.
McGonigle is your ROY
Say – .631 OPS this month. Teams have a book on him now, he needs to adjust.
Samuel Basallo AL ROY.
I don’t think these foreign players should win rookie of the year. They are already older and have played in an advanced league. They shouldn’t be considered rookies.
He is a great story.
Wanted the Yankees to acquire him, what combo he and Judge would have made.
Hope he comes back quick
Yank – Judge already has Stanton & Rice, that’s plenty ;O)
Stanton = part time player
steve – Stanton is due for a period of good health.
If Story can do it last year, so can Stanton ;O)
Boo!
this stinks. he and the white sox have been one of the best stories of the season
Smart move limit the damage
He’s young should be back in 10 days
Really didn’t want to come out last night
Good time to reset
Don’t be surprised if the #1 draft pick is in the bigs by September 1
I think they’re going to take HS’er Grady Emerson with the first pick, he has the higher ceiling and great makeup.
Worst thing to happen to the Papacy since the Great Schism.
Will he be back by all star break ?
Also will sux be out of it by then ?
4-6 weeks of recovery time. How long before he regains his timing after he comes back? This is a real bummer.
It’s fun reading White Sox having hope.
Bad news, obviously, but as long as the team keeps winning without him, spirits, snd prospects, will be high.
The White Sox are very good. Teams seem to be giving up against them. The Twins and Tigers are really bad, but they are just being overwhelmed by the Sox. It must be great for Sox fans, whose team was the butt of endless jokes for years, and who were beaten consistently by the teams in their division.
Lucky the division sucks or this could be a crippling blow for their legit playoff chances
The ChiSox lose a highly unusual but highly effective 2nd place hitter.
Tony LaRussa came out of retirement and won a division title in 2021!
Get well soon Mukasawa.