Andrew Benintendi Adds The Left-Handed Bat The Chicago White Sox Really Need

For the past few seasons, the Chicago White Sox have been short on left-handed hitters in the lineup.

The team has taken a big step towards solving imbalance in their batting order by adding left-handed hitting outfielder, Andrew Benintendi.

This offseason, the White Sox signed free agent Benintendi, 28, to a 5-year, $75M contract.

According to RosterResource, the estimated 2023 team payroll for the White Sox will be $187M, down from last year’s $193M.

The White Sox lost some significant offense when first baseman Jose Abreu signed with the Houston Astros as a free agent.

Abreu, who turned 36 January 29, drove in 75 runs for the White Sox last year. The year before, Abreu drove in 117 runs. His RBI bat, as well as his team leadership will be missed.

But by signing Benintendi, the White Sox have added a competent left-handed hitter to hit behind shortstop Tim Anderson at the top of new manager Pedro Grifol’s lineup.

About Andrew Benintendi:

Andrew Benintendi was a 1st round draft pick of the Boston Red Sox in 2015.

Signed out of the University of Arkansas, Benintendi was the seventh overall pick in the draft.

The Red Sox gave Benintendi a $3,590,400 signing bonus.

Benintendi hit 20 home runs for Arkansas in 2015, helping him win the Baseball America College Player of the Year Award.

Benintendi flew through the Red Sox minor league development program, spending parts of only two seasons in the minors.

Soaring to the top of prospects lists compiled by analysts like this writer, Benintendi made remarkable progress almost instantly after signing as a professional.

He hit so well as a young prospect, Benintendi was promoted to the parent Red Sox at the age of 21. He made his debut August 2, 2016 against the Seattle Mariners. He went to the plate as a pinch hitter, and finished without a hit in two trips to the plate.

Red Sox fans in particular, and baseball fans in general, vividly remember the tremendous start to Benintendi’s big league career. He was the talk of baseball, as he hit .295 for Boston in 118 plate appearances after his August graduation to Boston in 2016.

Retaining rookie status the following season, Benintendi continued to produce. He hit .271/.352/.424/.776 with 20 homers and 90 RBIs for the Red Sox. He stole 20 bases in 25 attempts. His season earned him the runner-up position to the Yankees Aaron Judge for Rookie of the Year.

Benintendi remained with Boston for parts of five seasons, until he was part of a three-team, February 2021 trade with the Red Sox, Kansas City Royals and New York Mets. Benintendi ended up with the Royals after that trade, where he played for parts of two seasons.

Last July, the Royals traded Benintendi to the New York Yankees, where he finished his 2022 season. The Yankees did not extend him, and Benintendi became a free agent.

Benintendi signed with the White Sox as a free agent January 3, 2023.

Benintendi was an All Star in 2022 with Kansas City and a Gold Glove winning left fielder in 2021.

Scouting Andrew Benintendi:

Benintendi is a good contact hitter, recognizing pitches quickly and being selective at the plate.

With his solid bat-to-ball skills, Benintendi does have some surprising pop in his slight 5-9, 180 pound frame. In fact, Benintendi does a pitcher a favor when he tries to barrel the pitch out of the park with a swing that can get too long at times. However, his power can be surprising.

Using the entire field, Benintendi knows how to to take a pitch where it is thrown. His eye-hand coordination and bat speed are above average.

When Benintendi is on his game, he can be an excellent table-setter near the top of the order. His on-base percentage leads to scoring runs driven in by the team’s more powerful hitters.

Defensively, Benintendi will bring a very solid, Gold Glove caliber glove to left field for the White Sox. He has good range, and tracks the ball off the bat well. He has the type of defense that can play well in center field, if needed there.

Benintendi has average arm strength, which makes playing right field less of a daily defensive position option.

A good runner, Benintendi is not overly fast. He does, however, have good enough base running instincts to get his share of stolen bases.

For this scout, Benintendi will get a boost from the new rule eliminating infield shifts, as he can pound the ball through the hole between the first and second basemen, or hit a ball that lands in front of the right fielder.

Benintendi’s good base running instincts may also help him steal double-digit bases; as the bases will be bigger, the shifts are gone, and the pitcher can only disengage from the mound twice to try to pick off the runner. After that second pickoff attempt, Benintendi may be on his way to the next base.

Benintendi could score plenty of runs with his new White Sox team.

Benintendi will be a challenge for pitchers. He will help Anderson set the table for Luis Robert Jr., Eloy Jimenez, Yoan Moncada, and Andrew Vaughn, who will likely hit behind him.

Benintendi finished last season hitting a combined .304/373/.399/.772 in 390 plate appearances with the Kansas City Royals, and 131 trips to the plate with the New York Yankees. Combined, he hit 23 doubles, three triples, five homers, scored 54 runs and drove in 51. Benintendi stole eight bases in 11 attempts.

Conclusions:

The Chicago White Sox will enter the new season trying to make up 11 games in the standings to the American League Central Division Champion Cleveland Guardians.

Generally a right-handed hitting team in the past, the White Sox added left-handed hitting, veteran outfielder Andrew Benintendi as a free agent this past offseason.

Signed to a five-year contract, Benintendi will try to take some of the sting out of the White Sox loss of RBI machine, Jose Abreu. Abreu signed with the Houston Astros as a free agent.

While the White Sox were relatively quiet this offseason, Benintendi’s signing with the team may not have received the buzz it could deserve. He is a seasoned, quality player on both sides of the ball.