Everyone’s wondering which Chicago White Sox players will step up with Munetaka Murakami out for the next month with a hamstring injury.
It’s a pivotal stretch for the Sox, whose expectations have soared since an 18-10 May made them instant contenders in the American League Central.
Left fielder Sam Antonacci, who lacks Murakami’s power but makes up for it with his grindy ways, appears to be up for the challenge. Antonacci went 4-for-4 with two doubles and two singles in Wednesday’s 8-0 win over the Minnesota Twins at Target Field, reaching base in all six plate appearances.
The primary Sox leadoff man is hitting .316 in 33 games since April 28, making things look relatively easy. Antonacci also walked and was hit by a pitch for the 12th time this season, improving his on-base percentage to .383.
“It doesn’t surprise you at all,” manager Will Venable told reporters afterward. “The thing about him is he puts himself in a really good spot every at-bat to compete and give himself a chance.
“He’s got a good swing, makes good swing decisions and is willing to get in there and fight until the end. Obviously he’s willing to take hit-by-pitches. Whatever it is, he’s just in that mode to do whatever he can to get on base.”
The Sox avoided a sweep in the three-game series as Erick Fedde pitched five shutout innings, allowing two hits for his first win since Aug. 9, 2025. Andrew Benintendi homered, and Jacob Gonzalez, called up from Triple-A Charlotte on Saturday after Murakami’s injury, drove in the first two runs of his major-league career on a two-hit afternoon.
After a day off Thursday, the Sox head to Philadelphia for a three-game series against the Phillies with Anthony Kay going in the opener
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. Kay is 4-0 with a 1.97 ERA over his last six starts.Sour juice
In a tone-deaf move by the Sox marketing department, José Canseco was invited to participate in a home run derby featuring former Sox players July 11 at Rate Field.
I’m assuming Sox consultant Tony La Russa was not consulted.
The self-proclaimed “Godfather of Steroids,” Canseco briefly played for the Sox in 2001 after starting the season with the independent Newark Bears. A desperate move by former general manager Ken Williams to salvage a lost season turned out to be the last stop in Canseco’s checkered career.
I was a Sox beat writer at the time, and near the end of the season Canseco informed us he was writing his autobiography.
“How many players in the history of the game, of note, in this decade, have gone through more than I have and accomplished more than I have?” he said. “Sure, you have your great players that have maintained that greatness through their whole careers, but how many players do you have that can enter the 500 home run category or go to the Hall of Fame, and the same player is disregarded as a bum, released, and then got to play again, won comeback player of the year a few times and still has a chance to reach the 500 home run level?
“In all of history, that has never happened. So when I retire from baseball, you’ll know the truth of who I really am.”
Canseco finished 38 homers shy of 500 and received 1.1% of the votes in his only year on the Hall of Fame ballot in 2007. His autobiography, “Juiced: Wild Times, Rampant ‘Roids, Smash Hits, and How Baseball Got Big,” came out in 2005 and named names, including former teammates Mark McGwire, Rafael Palmeiro, Iván Rodríguez and Jason Giambi.
They all denied using PEDs at the time, and La Russa defended McGwire, saying: “I am absolutely certain that Mark earned his size and strength from hard work and a disciplined lifestyle. When he was a kid in 1987, he hit 49 home runs. It’s a real shame. For some people, this is going to put a stain.” McGwire eventually admitted to PED use, as did others.
Canseco downplayed the effects of steroids in the book, and he became a pariah among players for ratting out his teammates to make money. He was out of sight and out of mind for years, until some Sox genius decided it would be fun to have Canseco return.
“I don’t know if you’ve seen any of his videos recently,” Sox marketing guru Brooks Boyer told the Athletic. “The guy looks in great shape, and you know he’ll probably grab like a 44-ounce bat and just hit tanks.”
Great shape? You don’t say.
It was embarrassing for Williams to sign Canseco. It’s even more embarrassing for Boyer and the Sox to bring him back.
Bad company?
Murakami ended May on a down note, going on the !L with the right hamstring strain that will sideline him at least four weeks. But he did enough to earn American League Rookie of the Month honors, hitting eight home runs with 18 RBIs and a .556 slugging percentage.
The last Sox rookie to win the monthly honor was, gulp, Yermín Mercedes in April 2021. “The Yerminator” hit .415 with five home runs, 16 RBIs and a 1.113 OPS that month. He was optioned to the minors by early July, waived a year later and played only 31 more games in the majors with the San Francisco Giants.