White Sox expect Murakami to miss 4-6 weeks; call up Gonzalez

White Sox slugger Munetaka Murakami was diagnosed with a Grade 2 right hamstring strain and is expected to be sidelined for 4-6 weeks, according to manager Will Venable.

Murakami is tied for second place in MLB with 20 home runs with Houston's Yordan Alvarez, two behind Philadelphia's Kyle Schwarber heading into Saturday's action.

The first baseman was placed on the 10-day injured list before Saturday's game against Detroit, while the Sox called up 2023 first-round pick Jacob Gonzalez and reliever Jordan Leasure (right flexor strain) was moved to the 60-day injured list.

Obviously, losing Murakami is a blow to the much-improved White Sox offense. Since April 19, the Sox have posted a 23-13 record while ranking second in MLB in OPS at .776, behind the Yankees. They're also second in the majors with 56 home runs during that stretch.

“It's tough,” Venable said. “Obviously, he makes a massive impact on our group, on and off the field. He's someone that puts so much energy into his work and to other people. I think he's probably pretty down right now, knowing that's going to take a different form over the next few weeks.”

The injury occurred in the third inning of Friday’s 4-3 victory. Murakami left the field after beating out a double-play grounder. The Sox eventually won on a 2-run walk-off homer by Miguel Vargas in the 10th inning.

Newcomer Randal Grichuk was originally slotted into Murakami's second spot in the batting order Saturday, then switched to No. 4 when Derek Hill was scratched with upper back soreness. Grichuk has been hot since joining the White Sox, hitting .333 with 4 home runs in 18 games.

Gonzalez will likely get a chance to fill in at first base against right-handed hitters. He's been absurdly hot at Triple-A Charlotte, going 7-for-8 with 2 doubles and 3 home runs in the two games just before getting called up.

Gonzalez, a native of Glendora, California, was the No. 15 overall pick of the 2023 draft out of Mississippi. His first three years in pro ball were relatively quiet, with 18 total home runs over three seasons, before hitting 19 in less than 2 months this year. Saturday was Gonzalez' 24th birthday.

“He's crushing baseballs, is what he's been doing, and it's really impressive,” Venable said. “You get the reports every day, and it seems like there's at least a homer and a couple ribbies in there on a nightly basis. So he's made some real adjustments with his swing and his approach and it's been paying off. So excited to see what it looks like here with us.”

Venable expressed confidence the White Sox can keep hitting without Murakami in the lineup. Murakami, Vargas and Colson Montgomery are the top home run-hitting trio in MLB this season.

“I don't think it changes our approach,” he said. “I think we still have guys in the middle of the order that are going to make good swing decisions and slug, and we have guys at different spots in the order where we're still going to do everything we can to scratch and claw and play some small ball and put pressure on the defense.”