White Sox Activate Munetaka Murakami Off IL: Should Fantasy Baseball Owners Be Cautious?

The Chicago White Sox will get their star first baseman Munetaka Murakami back off the IL tonight after suffering a hamstring injury in May.

Chicago White Sox first baseman Munetaka Murakami (5) homers (1) on a fly ball to right field during the ninth inning of the Opening Day game against the Milwaukee Brewers on Thursday March 26, 2026 at American Family Field in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

The Chicago White Sox will get some much needed reinforcements tonight just days before heading into the MLB All-Star break. First baseman Munetaka Murakami is set to return from the IL after missing 35 games with a hamstring injury.

The Chicago White Sox, who were swept without producing an extra-base hit vs. the Boston Red Sox, get much-needed help with slugger Munetka Murakami officially reinstated from the IL after missing the last 35 games.
The White Sox went 17-18 in his absence.

— Bob Nightengale (@BNightengale) July 10, 2026

He is expected to get the start tonight at home against the Athletics. This is a huge addition for the White Sox, who are currently tied for first place in the AL Central with the Cleveland Guardians. Chicago's manager Will Venable spoke about getting their star back.

"He's ready to go," Venable said. "He was challenged running the bases, defensively, had a really long game yesterday. So, feel good about the workload, recovered well today so he's ready to go...

We understand the impact he makes on the field and in the clubhouse so to activate him is going to mean a lot for our group. Really excited about him."

Fantasy Impact

1B Munetaka Murakami, Chicago White Sox

Murakami was off to a fantastic start to his rookie season after coming over from Japan. In his first 57 MLB games, he is batting .240 with 20 home runs, 48 hits, 41 RBIs, 43 runs scored, and an OPS of .938. He will look to pick back up where he left off when he got injured back in May.

With him coming off a soft-tissue injury, there is a chance that he does play some DH this weekend while they make sure that he's fully recovered and protect him from re-injury. Hamstrings are historically prone to re-injury. If you have any rules in your fantasy baseball league that could be impacted by that, be sure to keep that in mind.

His comeback will give fantasy owners a massive boost, especially when it comes to power numbers and home run production. That is where the majority of his fantasy value comes from. Of his 48 hits, 20 are home runs, while he's only hit four doubles and no triples. Still, his ability to hit the long ball gives him a ton of fantasy value.

We expect him to slot into the second spot in the lineup, which puts him in a good position to score runs. He also has 44 walks, which boosts his fantasy value as well. Be sure to plug him right back in tonight if you have him on your team. There is no need to wait on him.

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