The White Sox’ lineup will get a major boost tomorrow. Manager Will Venable told reporters (including Scott Merkin of MLB.com) that Munetaka Murakami will be activated from the 10-day injured list. He’ll make his return to the lineup for a home series against the Athletics to close the season’s first half.
It’ll come at a welcome time, as the White Sox were swept by Boston this week. The Red Sox’ pitching staff held Chicago to a total of two runs over that three-game stretch. Chicago has remarkably yet to lose more than three games in a row all season, a streak they’ll hope to maintain by taking tomorrow’s opener.
Murakami missed six weeks after suffering a Grade 2 strain of his right hamstring attempting to beat out an infield hit at the end of May. He was tied for second in the majors with 20 homers at the time. He’s still in the top 15 despite the extended absence. Murakami had started his MLB career with a fantastic .240/.378/.560 line through 246 plate appearances — more than hitting for sufficient power and drawing enough walks to overcome the questions about his contact skills.
The White Sox have had one of the least productive first base groups in the majors since Murakami went down. They’ve gotten a .227/.312/.355 slash line from the position dating back to June 1, putting them in the bottom five of the league in OPS. That’s in part because Miguel Vargas hasn’t hit in 39 plate appearances as a first baseman while maintaining his breakout offensive pace when he’s starting at third base. That’s nothing more than a statistical oddity, but Murakami should provide a boost over the roughly average offense they’ve gotten from rookie Jacob Gonzalez. The former first-round pick has a .244/.323/.360 slash with a couple home runs in his first 30 MLB games.
Gonzalez can move around the infield but won’t have a path to regular playing time behind Murakami, Vargas, Chase Meidroth and Colson Montgomery. If the Sox want to keep him around as a left-handed bat off the bench, fifth outfielder Junior Perez would be the other logical candidate to option to Triple-A. There’s no need for a 40-man roster transaction.
Despite the sweep, the White Sox are percentage points ahead of the Guardians for the lead in the AL Central. Minnesota sits two games back and the streaking Tigers have pulled within five games.
