{"id":796882,"date":"2026-09-05T01:45:32","date_gmt":"2026-09-05T01:45:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/796882\/"},"modified":"2026-09-05T01:45:32","modified_gmt":"2026-09-05T01:45:32","slug":"will-the-offseason-be-extension-season-for-white-sox-munetaka-murakami-and-will-venable","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/796882\/","title":{"rendered":"Will the offseason be extension season for White Sox, Munetaka Murakami and Will Venable?"},"content":{"rendered":"

First baseman Munetaka Murakami and manager Will Venable are two of the key figures in the White Sox<\/a>\u2019 surprisingly winning season.<\/p>\n

Murakami injected life into an anonymous and sputtering franchise, hitting tape-measure home runs and giving the Sox a truly international star. Venable, in his second season as manager, has been credited with nurturing young players and creating an atmosphere conducive to success.<\/p>\n

General manager Chris Getz would like both to stick around past next year.<\/p>\n

After his free-agent market collapsed, Murakami signed a two-year, $34 million contract<\/a> in December. In hindsight, the deal looks like a bargain for the Sox, even though Murakami hasn\u2019t hit a home run since Aug. 18 and went 3 for 24 and struck out 12 times on the recent seven-game road trip.<\/p>\n

Getz said Friday that the Sox and Murakami\u2019s camp will \u201ccontinue to have those conversations\u201d about extending the relationship. Clearly, all parts of the Sox franchise are hoping he re-signs, even if it\u2019s hard to see Murakami not getting a substantial raise.<\/p>\n

On the field, when he\u2019s right he\u2019s one of baseball\u2019s most powerful left-handed bats who knows how to work a count. Off the field, the Sox have benefited from his presence by marketing him extensively and perhaps gaining new fans in Japan.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s been part of the success that we\u2019ve had this year. It\u2019s helped us win games,\u201d Getz said. \u201cIt\u2019s helped others gain confidence up here and belief that you can win games. That\u2019s certainly something that we\u2019re grateful for and thankful that we\u2019ve gotten the opportunity to get to know him further. He\u2019s a tremendous teammate, hard worker and he\u2019s been productive.\u201d<\/p>\n

Just not as productive recently. Murakami is trying not to press through the slump, which has come at a bad time for the Sox, trying to hold off the Guardians for an AL Central title.<\/p>\n

\u201cJust keeping the same routine, the same preparation each day, each game. Very important to continue that,\u201d Murakami told reporters Thursday in Houston via an interpreter. \u201cAnd once that comes along, it\u2019s going to be a different road again. That\u2019s where I\u2019m trying to go.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Sox know they\u2019d like to go into their future with Venable, whose contract terms were never confirmed, but the franchise has traditionally given managers three-year deals. If that\u2019s the case, Venable would enter 2027 on the last year of his contract if he\u2019s not extended.<\/p>\n

Hired Oct. 31, 2024, Venable walked into one of the toughest spots possible for a first-time manager. The Sox had just lost 121 games after being managed by the overmatched Pedro Grifol and well-meaning Grady Sizemore. The team didn\u2019t need some changes, but a complete demolition and rebuild.<\/p>\n

In just two years, Venable and the Sox are in first place with under a month left. Clearly, Venable hasn\u2019t been perfect: the August gaffe when his second first-inning mound visit forced the Sox to remove Noah Schultz was a demerit, and his game management and bullpen moves have been questioned.<\/p>\n

On Friday afternoon, Getz was full of praise for Venable, saying he\u2019s been \u201cfantastic\u201d and done what the Sox have wanted and beyond. The Sox GM said he \u201cdefinitely\u201d wants Venable to be part of what they\u2019re building, but added that they\u2019re too focused on winning games to talk contract, and isn\u2019t concerned about that topic because of the duo\u2019s relationship.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s been a great partner to me. He\u2019s been a great teammate to the coaching staff and the players,\u201d Getz said. \u201cSo, he\u2019s definitely a guy of high value to us and want to continue to find ways to nurture that relationship.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Because of three lower-body injuries, Friday is just Teel\u2019s 20th game of the season. Without him, Sox catchers have batted just .170.<\/p>\n

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Romo is technically being optioned to Triple-A Charlotte, but will remain with the club as a \u2018taxi squad\u2019 player.<\/p>\n

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Castillo has a 7.52 ERA in a White Sox uniform, Murakami has a 38.4% strikeout rate since Aug. 1, but both remain critical to the team\u2019s success<\/p>\n

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Peters hit .320\/.414\/.640 in August, including his franchise-record streak of five-straight games with a home run, alongside above-average outfield defense.<\/p>\n

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