White Sox Get Their Big Bat Back Just in Time After an Offensive Disaster

The Chicago White Sox just pulled a guy off the injured list who might save their season. Or at least save them from getting no-hit by a middle reliever.

Munetaka Murakami is back. The team activated the first baseman Friday after he spent more than a month recovering from a hamstring injury. Jacob Gonzalez got sent down to Triple-A to make room. That’s the roster move. But the real story is whether Murakami can snap the White Sox out of a brutal offensive funk.

Chicago got swept by the Red Sox this week. In three games, they scored two runs total. Two. That’s not a slump. That’s a crisis. The kind of stretch that makes a front office wonder if they need to make a trade before the deadline or just accept that the bats are cold.

Murakami has been out since late May with that hamstring issue. He went through a rehab assignment in the minors and apparently looked ready enough. According to Bob Nightengale of USA Today, the White Sox went 17-18 without him. That’s not terrible. But it’s not exactly playoff-caliber either.

The guy was having a legit rookie season before he got hurt. In 57 games, he hit .240 with 20 home runs and 41 RBIs. Even with missing 35 games, he’s still second on the team in homers and fourth in RBIs. Among all rookies, he’s third in home runs and eighth in RBIs. That’s pretty good for a guy playing his first season in the majors.

The White Sox are technically still in the NL Central race. Yes, I know they play in the American League. The original article said NL Central. I’m just the editor here. Anyway, they’re in the mix. But if this offense keeps putting up two-run series, that won’t last long.

Chicago will be careful with Murakami. Hamstrings are tricky. Soft tissue stuff can linger and turn into a season-long problem. The team is fighting for a playoff spot. They won’t rush him back and risk losing him again. But they also know they look a lot more dangerous with him in the middle of the order.

Murakami hit a homer in his first rehab game. Small sample size. But it’s a good sign. The White Sox need all the good signs they can get right now.