One AL Central Team Just Got a Scary Reason to Worry About Munetaka Murakami

Munetaka Murakami is about to play baseball again. That sentence alone should have the Cleveland Guardians paying very close attention.

The Chicago White Sox rookie slugger, who has been sidelined with an injury, is set to begin a rehab assignment Monday with Triple-A Charlotte. According to MLB.com, the plan is for Murakami to get some at-bats in the minors before rejoining the big league club. And if things go well, that could happen sooner than later.

White Sox manager Will Venable didn’t exactly downplay the timeline.

“There’s a possibility that he plays for us before the break, for sure,” Venable said. “We need him back obviously on the field, but just his presence, it means so much to have him in the lineup, what that does for you.”

Actually, Venable went a step further. He compared Murakami’s impact to what Adrián González brought when they were teammates.

“I remember what it meant to have Adrián González in the lineup. 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 hitter’s meetings, just his presence in being active and part of the group is significant. Really excited by the potential to have him back even beyond his performance on the field.”

That kind of talk matters because the White Sox and Guardians are deadlocked at the top of the AL Central. Chicago entered Sunday at 46-42, tied with Cleveland for first place. A series win Sunday would give the Sox a little breathing room. But the bigger story is that Murakami could be back before the All-Star break.

And the dude can hit. Before getting hurt, Murakami crushed 20 home runs and drove in 41 runs. That’s not just good for a rookie. That’s elite production at any level. The White Sox offense hasn’t been the same without him lurking in the middle of the order.

The team is being careful though. Venable said there’s a plan in place, but it’s flexible.

“We want to be really mindful of the injury, the significance of it and the buildup,” Venable said. “You build in a plan but certainly if it goes well, he’s recovering well, feeling good, it doesn’t have to play out every single game.”

He added that Murakami will likely play at least a couple of games in Charlotte before they make a call. But the tone was clear: they’re optimistic.

For Cleveland, this is bad timing. They’ve been hanging with Chicago all season, but the White Sox are about to get their best hitter back. And if Murakami picks up where he left off, that tie atop the division might not last long.