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 8-2 victory over 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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Chicago White Sox's Munetaka Murakami of Japan, watches teammates from the dugout during the first inning of a baseball game against the Detroit Tigers in Chicago, Sunday, May 31, 2026. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)
CHICAGO (AP) — Los Angeles Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani is day to day with left knee inflammation.
Ohtani was sidelined for Friday night's 8-2 loss to the Chicago White Sox. But manager Dave Roberts said Ohtani could play this weekend and remains in line to make his next scheduled start on the mound on Wednesday.
Ohtani was lifted for a pinch hitter in the seventh inning of Thursday night’s 8-6 win at Pittsburgh.
“He’s doing fine today,” Roberts said before the series opener against the White Sox. “I think that we got some pictures. There was no findings. It’s just the normal wear and tear. I thought initially it was a hamstring, it was the knee. So it just kind of got upset, swelled up a little bit.”
Ohtani, 31, is batting .305 with 13 homers and 40 RBIs in 67 games for the NL West leaders. On the mound, the reigning NL MVP is 6-2 with a 1.06 ERA in 11 starts.
Ohtani had surgery on his left knee in September 2019. Roberts said the swelling is in the back of the knee.
“That’s where a lot of the swelling with the knee kind of like builds,” Roberts said. “But again his range of motion today is good and so if it was another time in the season he’d be in there tonight.”
Ohtani did not speak with the media before the game.
Alex Call was in the leadoff spot for Los Angeles and Santiago Espinal stepped in as the designated hitter. Espinal contributed an early two-run single, but the Dodgers finished with just four hits — all in the first three innings.
Roberts also said utilityman Tommy Edman is on track to be activated from the 60-day injured list on Tuesday. Edman, who is coming back from offseason ankle surgery, is on a minor league rehab assignment with Triple-A Oklahoma City.
Right-hander Tyler Glasnow, who is on the 60-day IL because of a back issue, could start playing catch soon.
“(Glasnow) feels great, so he’s going to start kind of ramping things up,” Roberts said.
AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb
Los Angeles Dodgers' Shohei Ohtani enters the field prior to a baseball game against the Chicago White Sox, Friday, June 12, 2026, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Melissa Tamez)
Los Angeles Dodgers' Shohei Ohtani enters the field prior to a baseball game against the Chicago White Sox, Friday, June 12, 2026, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Melissa Tamez)
Los Angeles Dodgers' Shohei Ohtani enters the field prior to a baseball game against the Chicago White Sox, Friday, June 12, 2026, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Melissa Tamez)
Los Angeles Dodgers' Shohei Ohtani enters the field prior to a baseball game against the Chicago White Sox, Friday, June 12, 2026, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Melissa Tamez)
