Munetaka Murakami estimated he was at the 99% point of his recovery.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe last road is to play in the minors,\u201d the Chicago White Sox first baseman said through an interpreter on Sunday evening in Cleveland. \u201cThat one percent at being at the minors and then being back on the (major-league) field.\u201d<\/p>\n
That final hurdle got underway Tuesday when Murakami began a minor-league injury rehab assignment<\/a> with Triple-A Charlotte.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ve had great preparation along the way in ramping up, so I feel good,\u201d Murakami said.<\/p>\n The slugger has been on the injured list since May 30<\/a> with a right hamstring strain suffered the night before. He was running to first base<\/a> during the third inning in an attempt to avoid grounding into a double play against the Detroit Tigers.<\/p>\n \u201cWe need him back obviously on the field, but just his presence, you know, it just means so much to have him in the lineup, what that does for you,\u201d manager Will Venable said on Saturday at Progressive Field. \u201cI remember what it meant to have Adri\u00e1n Gonz\u00e1lez in the lineup (as a teammate in San Diego). When you have a guy like that, and we have a lot of those guys, but when you have a guy like that in your lineup, everyone has a little more confidence in your ability to win that game.<\/p>\n \u201cHis presence in the hitters\u2019 meetings, just his presence in being active and part of the group, is significant. Really excited about the potential to have him back even beyond his performance on the field.\u201d<\/p>\n Murakami was slated to play first base for five to seven innings on Tuesday.<\/p>\n \u201cAnd then there\u2019s a game plan to build him up throughout the week, kind of take it day by day to see how he\u2019s feeling and recovering and see if he\u2019s getting enough at-bats,\u201d Venable said before Tuesday\u2019s game against the Boston Red Sox at Rate Field. \u201cAnd then hopefully at some point before the break, we\u2019ll activate him.\u201d<\/p>\n The Sox stressed the \u201cday by day\u201d approach.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m not going to put a timeline on it just because I don\u2019t know how he\u2019s going to recover, how many at-bats he gets, how they go, how he\u2019s feeling,\u201d Venable said. \u201cWe have a game plan, but we\u2019re going to take it day by day and make adjustments as we need them.\u201d<\/p>\n The Sox are 17-15 since Murakami landed on the IL. They entered Tuesday in first place in the American League Central, one game ahead of the Cleveland Guardians.<\/p>\n \u201cI was only able to cheer along the way, but the team is in a very good condition,\u201d Murakami said. \u201cThey really grinded through the progress. I hope I can just get back and not pull their feet and try to contribute as much as possible.\u201d<\/p>\n At the time of his injury, Murakami led the AL with 43 runs and was tied for first in home runs (20)<\/a> and RBIs (41). He also, at the time, ranked third in OPS (.947) and fourth in slugging (.566) and walks (44).<\/p>\n Across the board, Venable has been impressed with how the group has stepped up.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re getting it from every position out there, every spot in the lineup, these guys are doing a great job,\u201d Venable said. \u201cObviously there\u2019s great stuff on the pitching side going on as well. Just the fact these guys have continued to have the same energy, the same focus on the field, been able to play at a high level even in his absence is really telling of the way we\u2019ve been going about these games and the way we\u2019ve been winning them.<\/p>\n