CHICAGO (AP) — White Sox rookie Munetaka Murakami is running again as part of his recovery from a right hamstring strain.
Murakami got hurt during a 4-3 victory over the Detroit Tigers on May 29. The first baseman is expected to be sidelined for four to six weeks.
“It’s coming along well,” Murakami said Friday through his interpreter, Kenzo Yagi. “Progress is being made day by day. I’m doing well in the rehab itself. Doing really well.”
The 26-year-old Murakami is batting .240 with 20 homers and 41 RBIs in 57 games in his first year in the major leagues. The Japanese slugger signed a $34 million, two-year contract with the White Sox in December.
Manager Will Venable had no update on Murakami's timeline.
“There’s a lot of boxes that he’s got to check still and a lot of things as you look at the progression between the running and the hitting and how the recovery’s going,” Venable said before Friday's series opener against the Los Angeles Dodgers.
White Sox catcher Kyle Teel also is progressing and could go out on a minor league rehab assignment soon. The 24-year-old Teel has yet to play this season.
“He’s hitting on the field, running on the field, doing the catching drills,” Venable said. "So it’s a matter of continued recovery and just pushing the intensity a little bit. But I think it could be a matter of days before we send him out.”
Teel, a first-round pick in the 2023 amateur draft, strained his right hamstring while playing for Italy in the World Baseball Classic. Then he hurt his right knee while playing for Triple-A Charlotte on a rehab assignment.
Teel was acquired by Chicago in the Garrett Crochet trade in December 2024. He hit .273 with eight homers and 35 RBIs in 78 games last year in his first action with the White Sox.
Left-hander Noah Schultz, who was placed on the 15-day injured list on May 26 with patellar tendinitis in his right knee, is scheduled for a bullpen session on Saturday.
"Assuming that that goes well, he’ll go out on assignment and throw a few innings in Charlotte,” Venable said.
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