White Sox' Munetaka Murakami homers in return to spring training
GLENDALE, Ariz. — White Sox first baseman Munetaka Murakami wasted little time displaying the prodigious power that has fans salivating.
On a 1-2 count, Murakami connected on a 96.6 mph fastball in the zone for a solo shot to center field for his first homer of spring training. Murakami returned to the Sox Monday and played in his first game on Tuesday since returning from the World Baseball Classic. Murakami last day with the Sox was on Feb. 26.
Sox’ rotation set
White Sox right-hander Jonathan Cannon was optioned to Triple-A Charlotte on Tuesday.
"Some of the things we asked him to do with count leverage, getting ahead of guys — the race to [two strikes] — did a really good job of controlling the running game, burying holds and did a really nice job of doing that," manager Will Venable said. "It just happens that we had five guys ahead of him. He’s No. 6 guy, and for us to maintain that depth, it was important for him to be optioned and continue to be stretched out."
Following Opening Day starter Shane Smith in the rotation will be right-hander Sean Burke, left-hander Anthony Kay, and right-handers Davis Martin and Erick Fedde.
Cannon posted a 4.09 ERA over four spring appearances (one start). In his last outing, he allowed two runs on five hits with four walks. In a recent conversation with the Sun-Times, Cannon said he diligently worked on his sweeper in the offseason to up the velocity.
"Obviously, taking the results with a little bit of a grain of salt," he told the Sun-Times. "The underlying stuff in my last outing, stuff was really good, [but the] command wasn't as good. Too many walks, but for the most part, the command has been good all spring. You just want everything to be honed in for the season, because the results don't matter a ton in spring training."
Venable said the team wants Cannon to continue getting ahead of guys, throwing strikes in the zone, and controlling it. Pitching depth will be important for the Sox, as evidenced by Mike Vasil having season-ending Tommy John surgery. The organization hasn't had much pitching depth in recent years, and the club had to sign Adrian Houser and trade for Aaron Civale to supplement the rotation. Cannon will likely make starts for the big-league team at some point. Cannon's problem last season was his inability to find the zone. He nearly had the same amount of total walks last season (38) as he did in 2024 (40) in fewer innings.