The White Sox officially activated Munetaka Murakami from the injured list Friday and optioned Jacob Gonzalez to Triple-A Charlotte.
Murakami, who played in two rehab games this week in Charlotte to complete his recovery from a strained right hamstring, will be in the lineup for the game tonight against the Athletics at Rate Field (6:40 p.m., CHSN, 1000-AM). A sellout crowd is expected.
“He feels good. He’s ready to go,” manager Will Venable said Thursday when he announced that Murakami would be activated after a successful rehab assignment. “He was challenged running the bases. Defensively, had a really long game yesterday of nine innings. So [we] feel good about the work; he recovered well today. So he’s ready to go.”
Murakami, who still ranks second on the team with 20 home runs, went 2-for-7 with an RBI double, a walk and two strikeouts at Charlotte. He played five innings at first base Tuesday and nine innings Wednesday. The Sox might give Murakami some time at designated hitter as he returns to game-playing shape.
“There’ll be a lot of communication on where he’s at,” Venable said. “This ramp-up and this rehab was obviously very quick. So we want to be mindful of where he’s at day to day.”
Murakami, 26, has missed the last 35 games, in which the Sox held their own with a record of 17-18. Before suffering the injury running to first base May 30, Murakami was slashing .240/.378/.560 with four doubles, 41 RBI, 44 walks and 43 runs scored in 57 games. His 20 homers are tied for seventh in the American League.
The Sox called up Gonzalez, 24, the day after Murakami’s injury — which he suffered six weeks ago today — and put him through a crash course at first base. After some early mental mistakes, Gonzalez caught on and capably handled the position. He had hoped that his ability to play everywhere else on the infield — he has been a shortstop for most of his career — would keep him with the Sox when Murakami returned.
“We all know I can play all the positions,” he told the Sun-Times on Thursday. “Obviously, I came up here to fill the first-baseman role while he was hurt. I think it was good I showed that I can play there.”
Gonzalez slashed .244/.323/.360 with four doubles, two home runs, 17 RBI and 11 runs scored in 30 games with the Sox in his first major-league season.
Murakami is returning at a time the Sox’ offense is sputtering. In losing all three games to the Red Sox this week, the White Sox scored two runs with 15 hits — all singles — in 27 innings and struck out 25 times.
“Obviously, he’s a presence in the lineup,” designated hitter Andrew Benintendi said. “He’ll bring energy. Seems like the vibe in here is kind of down right now. But I’m sure seeing him will spark it back up.”
“It’s going to be a great jolt,” Venable said. “That’s real. We understand the impact that he makes on the field and in the clubhouse. Really excited about it.”