It's Time For The White Sox To Drop Munetaka Murakami In The Lineup

Chicago White Sox first baseman Munetaka Murakami has hit a rookie wall. 

The Japanese slugger got off to a strong start in his MLB career. He had a .240/.378/.560 slash line with 20 home runs, four doubles, 41 RBI, and one stolen base in his first 57 games. He was a force in that White Sox’s lineup and was one of the top home run hitters in baseball to start the season. 

However, Murakami has really struggled at the plate since suffering a hamstring strain in late May. He missed around six weeks with that injury before returning right before the All-Star break. The problem is that his numbers have been poor ever since that injury. 

Murakami has a .174/.311/.388 slash line with 11 home runs and 23 RBI over his last 55 games since July 10. While he’s still providing solid home run numbers, he is starting to become a liability in this Chicago lineup. 

Since August 19, the lefty slugger has a .100/.234/.188 slash line with two home runs, one double, and six RBI. He is just 8-for-80 during this stretch and has a 41.5% strikeout rate. Those numbers simply won’t cut it. 

With the White Sox’s lead in the American League Central down to just a ½ game, manager Will Venable has to make some sort of adjustment. Venable decided not to start Murakami in Friday’s series opener against the St. Louis Cardinals, but there needs to be a bigger move at play here. 

The first option is to give Murakami a few days to really reset amid this slump. The White Sox could give him both Saturday and Sunday off so he's ready to go for an important series against the Cleveland Guardians on Monday. 

The second option is to move him down in the lineup. The White Sox could try to let him get out of this slump by allowing him to hit out of it. Every hitter goes through slumps, and things will eventually turn around for Murakami. 

But if Chicago continues to play Murakami during this rough offensive stretch, he has to move down in the order. Venable can’t continue to hit him in the second or third spot because he’s really hurting this offense right now. 

The second option is probably the better way to help Murakami. It would take some pressure off him at the plate and would also give the White Sox the best chance to win each game right now.