Hamstrung from the Start: Andrew Benintendi Clouds White Sox Future Outlook

The truth is, the early returns on the vision Getz has for this team have been disastrous. The worst start in franchise history will only get worse as the season rolls along, and fans have come to the stark realization that the roster assembled by a rookie GM will be staring historic futility in the face throughout the next 141 games.

I think few within the fan base were delusional enough to believe the White Sox would compete this season or even next, but even fewer expected things to be this bad. We're only 21 games into the season — the Chicago weather hasn't even turned yet — and things have gotten so bad that a sizeable portion of the team's supporters are already checked out. That's not an encouraging sign for an organization that's seemingly going out of its way to disenfranchise the small group of people who legitimately care about what the Sox do on a day-to-day basis.

Inheriting a Problem

In one of his final acts as general manager, Rick Hahn signed Andrew Benintendi to the largest free agent contract in White Sox history. That last sentence is laughable enough but gets even more pathetic when you realize it's for $75 million over the course of five seasons. I've been saying for years that since the White Sox, more specifically their owner, refuse to spend at the top of the free agent market, they should do more to spend in that mid-tier to assemble a roster instead of the bottom tier where they frequently reside.

The addition of Benintendi last winter was met with a collective groan from the fan base, but some thought perhaps he could serve as a steady veteran presence who gets on base and provides adequate defense playing in a more forgiving outfield at the corner of 35th/Shields. I was in that camp, as I wasn't in favor of the signing but thought he could provide some value in a few areas for at least a couple of seasons.

Last season, Benintendi accrued -3 DRS in left field, and he already equaled that amount entering Sunday of the 2024 campaign. It's not an encouraging sign when you look at where we are on the calendar. Several within the fan base, myself included, have already resorted to nicknaming him "NoodleBoy" for lack of arm strength in left field, and it's been on full display for all to see through the season's first 21 games. It's very evident that opposing teams will run on him at will looking to take an additional 90 feet whenever the opportunity presents itself.

Benintendi's arm strength hasn't been the only problem defensively, as the eye test has shown him to be very tentative making plays on balls that other left fielders would seemingly handle with ease. Early on in his career with the Boston Red Sox, Benintendi was viewed by some observers as a plus defender. While I don't think anyone believed that's what our Sox were getting when they acquired him, I think it's safe to say no one believed it would be as bad as it has been to this point.

While Benintendi's deficiencies on the grass have been clear for all to see, the most troubling aspect of his performance has been in the batter's box. From his initial call-up to Boston on Aug. 2, 2016 until his trade to the New York Yankees on July 27, 2022, Benintendi performed as a slightly above-average big-league hitter, showing the ability to get on a base and occasionally flash gap power. During his first 3,032 career plate appearances, he slashed .280/.352/.432, which penciled out to 109 wRC+.

That's not a stat line that sets the world ablaze, but it'd fit nicely into a well-balanced lineup. He complemented that with a 9.8% BB rate, so while he wasn't a prototypical power-hitting left fielder, his ability to get on base provided a modicum of value.

Since being dealt to the Yankees in 2022, Benintendi has been a shell of the player he was even then. From the day he put on the pinstripes for the first time through Saturday, he has had 828 plate appearances and slashed a ghastly .251/.316/.346 with just seven home runs and 84 wRC+. Some would argue that the broken wrist he sustained late in the 2022 season has hampered his offensive performance since joining the White Sox, and there could be a level of credence to this. 

Simply put, Benintendi hasn't impacted the baseball at all since joining the South Siders. This season, in particular, he got off to a horrific start with a .167/.211/.181 slash line through 20 games. As scary as those numbers are, it's even scarier to think that the team is still on the hook for well over $50 million through the end of the 2027 season for a player whose offense took a sharply negative turn in record time.

Hands Tied

Chris Getz has been adamant about wanting to reshape the White Sox roster, but Andrew Benintendi's presence and albatross contract are already causing problems for him. Benintendi and the injury-prone (yes I used that term) Eloy Jimenez occupying the left field and DH positions, respectively, limit Getz's creativity when making roster changes for a team that's in desperate need of them.

Jimenez's inconsistent health and performance histories will likely see his time on the South Side end after 2024. If he can somehow piece together a few good months offensively, maybe the Sox can move him at the deadline after throwing in some cash to rid themselves of his presence. The more likely scenario is they decline his $16.5 million option for 2025 and pay him $3 million to go on his merry way. However, they'll have no such luck with Benintendi. The Sox are essentially stuck with an underwater contract for a player whose continued presence will prevent them from bringing in external forces that could improve the club.

This past offseason, we already saw that Getz was unable to pursue corner outfield options such as Lourdes Gurriel Jr., Teoscar Hernandez, and Jorge Soler because the left field and DH spots were occupied by two completely immovable players. And while the 2024 free agent class is less than stellar, and that's putting it nicely, surely there are better options for filling left field than what the Sox presently have.

The reality is the White Sox will likely be stuck with Benintendi until sometime in 2027. In recent years, we've seen the team cut bait with vastly underperforming, high-priced players such as John Danks and Dallas Keuchel, but only when they reached the final year of their deals. So, allow me to be the bearer of bad news and let everyone know that Andrew Benintendi is stuck here unless the team makes a swap for an equally overpriced and underperforming player at a different position.

The early returns on Chris Getz's vision for the White Sox have already raised cause for concern, but the team he inherited has caused problems in him totally reshaping this group. Those problems won't get any easier going forward due to the presence of the team's highest-paid free-agent acquisition ever. The only hope is that Benintendi can somehow pull himself out of the offensive funk he's been in since donning a Sox uniform, but things aren't encouraging.