{"id":525849,"date":"2026-03-15T23:40:12","date_gmt":"2026-03-15T23:40:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/525849\/"},"modified":"2026-03-15T23:40:12","modified_gmt":"2026-03-15T23:40:12","slug":"when-munetaka-murakami-will-return-to-camp","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/525849\/","title":{"rendered":"When Munetaka Murakami will return to camp"},"content":{"rendered":"

GLENDALE, Ariz. \u2014 Slugger Munetaka Murakami is on his way back to the Chicago White Sox.<\/p>\n

The infielder had a flight scheduled for Sunday to return following Japan\u2019s loss to Venezuela in a World Baseball Classic quarterfinal on Saturday in Miami.<\/p>\n

Murakami went 4-for-19 with one home run and five RBIs in five games. He hit a grand slam<\/a> during pool play against the Czech Republic.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019ll be in camp tomorrow,\u201d manager Will Venable said Sunday at Camelback Ranch. \u201cBut whether we see him in the game or not, will kind of depend on how he recovers from the flight. Just want to make sure that he\u2019s in a good spot before we put him back out there.\u201d<\/p>\n

Here are three more takeaways from Sunday at Sox camp.<\/p>\n

1. Pitcher Mike Vasil awaits next steps after exiting Saturday with right elbow soreness.
\n\"ChicagoChicago White Sox pitcher Mike Vasil pitches during the second inning against the Milwaukee Brewers in a Cactus League game at Camelback Ranch on Sunday, Feb. 22, 2026, in Glendale, Ariz. (Armando L. Sanchez\/Chicago Tribune)<\/p>\n

Mike Vasil awaited an update Sunday morning after leaving Saturday\u2019s game against the Los Angeles Dodgers with right elbow soreness<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cAt this moment we\u2019re going to look over scans, more tests, try to figure out some more stuff and look at the imaging and go from there,\u201d Vasil said.<\/p>\n

The right-hander exited in the fourth inning.<\/p>\n

\u201cSomething just didn\u2019t feel right,\u201d he said. \u201cAny time with an elbow you just want to be precautionary, especially this time of year. I think for me, if something\u2019s not feeling right, you\u2019ve got to speak up, got to say something.<\/p>\n

\u201cHad them come out there and we just decided it was best to not push.\u201d<\/p>\n

Vasil allowed two hits and two walks with three strikeouts in 3 2\/3 scoreless innings Saturday.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was feeling good,\u201d Vasil said. \u201cIt was very upsetting yesterday to have to leave an outing, especially where I felt so good and so locked in against a very good lineup.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor me, all the stuff I\u2019ve been doing and working towards, just feeling good.\u201d<\/p>\n

Vasil, who has been competing for a spot in the starting rotation<\/a>, has a 1.64 ERA in four spring appearances (two starts).<\/p>\n

\u201cMike\u2019s one of those guys that just stays really positive,\u201d Venable said. \u201cHe\u2019ll just continue to work and will be evaluated and we\u2019ll see what we\u2019ve got.\u201d<\/p>\n

2. Braden Montgomery and Josh Breaux were reassigned to minor-league camp.
\n\"ChicagoChicago White Sox outfielder Braden Montgomery participates in media day during spring training at Camelback Ranch in Glendale, Ariz., on Tuesday, Feb. 17, 2026. (Eileen T. Meslar\/Chicago Tribune)<\/p>\n

The Sox made two roster moves Sunday morning, reassigning outfielder Braden Montgomery<\/a> and catcher Josh Breaux to minor-league camp.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey both had great camps,\u201d Venable said. \u201cJosh, first of all, did a great job. Continuing to work on his defense, the relationships he built with our pitchers, the way he handled them in games was awesome. Really good camp for him.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd Braden, I thought he had an outstanding camp, too. We saw some of the defense, we saw the base running. Did a nice job at the plate. He continues to progress. He\u2019s a young kid who is continuing to figure it out. Looks like he belongs amongst the big leaguers on the field. So nice camp for him, too.\u201d<\/p>\n

Montgomery is the top-rated prospect in the Sox system, according to MLB.com<\/a>. He is 8-for-23 (.348) with one home run and three RBIs in 12 Cactus League games.<\/p>\n

\u201cI just know he certainly looks the part,\u201d Venable said. \u201cHe also has things that he really has to work on. The left-handed swing is behind the right-handed swing, or maybe a better way to say it is the right-handed swing is just way more advanced and there\u2019s less to clean up there. Has some work to do defensively.<\/p>\n

\u201cDid a great job, specifically unlocking some pre-pitch movements that are going to help his first step. We asked him to play a bunch of different spots out there in the outfield and I think he took to all of them really well. It certainly, defensively, he has some work to do. And again, on the left side of the plate. He\u2019s aware of that. The great thing about him is he\u2019s just so hungry to be great and he\u2019s putting in all the right work.\u201d<\/p>\n

With Sunday\u2019s moves, the Sox have 48 players remaining in camp: 24 pitchers, four catchers, 10 infielders and 10 outfielders.<\/p>\n

3. Prospect Hagen Smith strikes out 5 of 7 batters.
\n\"ChicagoChicago White Sox pitcher Hagen Smith participates in media day during spring training at Camelback Ranch in Glendale, Ariz., on Tuesday, Feb. 17, 2026. (Eileen T. Meslar\/Chicago Tribune)<\/p>\n

Another highly touted prospect, Hagen Smith, struck out five in two hitless innings Sunday against the Kansas City Royals at Surprise Stadium.<\/p>\n

Smith faced seven batters on Sunday. In addition to the five strikeouts, Smith walked one batter and got a groundout.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere were some fastball misses I\u2019d like to take back, but overall felt good, body felt good and I was good with it,\u201d Smith said.<\/p>\n

Smith has a 4.91 ERA this spring, allowing two earned runs in 3 2\/3 innings with eight strikeouts and one walk. MLB.com ranks Smith the No. 4 prospect in the Sox system.<\/p>\n

\u201cI feel really good, I was a lot better than I was last year at this time,\u201d Smith said. \u201cEverything feels good, threw a couple of cutters today for the first time in a game in a while, so that was good.\u201d<\/p>\n

Smith said watching fellow lefty Anthony Kay inspired him to work on the cutter.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve been wanting to throw a cutter, and it kind of lined up perfectly,\u201d Smith said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"GLENDALE, Ariz. \u2014 Slugger Munetaka Murakami is on his way back to the Chicago White Sox. The infielder…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":525850,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[65],"tags":[138520,208941,2318,138519,236706,222837,363,122009,99,63077,72364],"class_list":["post-525849","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-mlb","tag-braden-montgomery","tag-cactus-league","tag-chicago-white-sox","tag-hagen-smith","tag-josh-breaux","tag-mike-vasil","tag-mlb","tag-munetaka-murakami","tag-sports","tag-spring-training","tag-world-baseball-classic"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/525849","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=525849"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/525849\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/525850"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=525849"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=525849"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=525849"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}