Chicago White Sox slugger Munetaka Murakami begins his injury rehab assignment with Triple-A Charlotte

Munetaka Murakami estimated he was at the 99% point of his recovery.

"The last road is to play in the minors," the Chicago White Sox first baseman said through an interpreter on Sunday evening in Cleveland. "That one percent at being at the minors and then being back on the (major-league) field."

That final hurdle got underway Tuesday when Murakami began a minor-league injury rehab assignment with Triple-A Charlotte.

“I've had great preparation along the way in ramping up, so I feel good,” Murakami said.

Murakami went 1-for-3 with a single and two strikeouts on Tuesday against Nashville at Charlotte.

He ripped the single to right field on the first pitch he saw in the first inning.

Murakami batted with the bases loaded in the second inning, striking out swinging to end a seven-pitch at-bat. He struck out looking with two on in the fourth inning.

The slugger has been on the injured list since May 30 with a right hamstring strain suffered the night before. He was running to first base during the third inning in an attempt to avoid grounding into a double play against the Detroit Tigers.

"We need him back obviously on the field, but just his presence, you know, it just means so much to have him in the lineup, what that does for you," manager Will Venable said on Saturday at Progressive Field. "I remember what it meant to have Adrián González in the lineup (as a teammate in San Diego). When you have a guy like that, and we have a lot of those guys, but when you have a guy like that in your lineup, everyone has a little more confidence in your ability to win that game.

"His presence in the hitters' meetings, just his presence in being active and part of the group, is significant. Really excited about the potential to have him back even beyond his performance on the field."

Murakami was slated to play first base for five to seven innings on Tuesday. He was lifted for a defensive replacement after the fifth.

“And then there's a game plan to build him up throughout the week, kind of take it day by day to see how he's feeling and recovering and see if he's getting enough at-bats,” Venable said before Tuesday’s game against the Boston Red Sox at Rate Field. “And then hopefully at some point before the break, we'll activate him.”

The Sox stressed the “day by day” approach.

“I'm not going to put a timeline on it just because I don't know how he's going to recover, how many at-bats he gets, how they go, how he's feeling,” Venable said. “We have a game plan, but we're going to take it day by day and make adjustments as we need them.”

The Sox are 17-15 since Murakami landed on the IL. They entered Tuesday in first place in the American League Central, one game ahead of the Cleveland Guardians.

“I was only able to cheer along the way, but the team is in a very good condition,” Murakami said. “They really grinded through the progress. I hope I can just get back and not pull their feet and try to contribute as much as possible.”

At the time of his injury, Murakami led the AL with 43 runs and was tied for first in home runs (20) and RBIs (41). He also, at the time, ranked third in OPS (.947) and fourth in slugging (.566) and walks (44).

Across the board, Venable has been impressed with how the group has stepped up.

“We're getting it from every position out there, every spot in the lineup, these guys are doing a great job,” Venable said. “Obviously there's great stuff on the pitching side going on as well. Just the fact these guys have continued to have the same energy, the same focus on the field, been able to play at a high level even in his absence is really telling of the way we've been going about these games and the way we've been winning them.

“And also (rookie) Jacob (Gonzalez) individually has done a great job (filling at first base) in (Murakami’s) absence.”

The Sox know they’ll have a tough roster move to make when Murakami is healthy enough to return.

“We have to figure that out, those are conversations that we'll work through here in the next couple of days as Mune gets closer,” Venable said. “But no decisions have been made yet.”

Murakami praised the Sox for their help in getting him back to action. He’s looking forward to several aspects of the upcoming days.

“To face the pitchers overall and to go back out there and play with the teammates would be really fun,” Murakami said.

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This story was originally published July 7, 2026 at 5:59 PM.