White Sox' Andrew Benintendi hoping to carry momentum from 2024 into a more productive 2025 season

Andrew Benintendi knows his White Sox tenure hasn’t panned out the way he or the team has wanted.

After narrowly missing out on drafting him in the 2015 MLB Draft, the left fielder signed a five-year, franchise-record $75 million free-agent contract with the Sox before the 2023 season. The Gold Glove winner was brought in to help give a Sox team on the downturn a lift with his glove and at the plate.

But Benintendi has been mostly struggling since arriving in Chicago. His slash line with the Sox of .246/.309/.377 is far below his Boston slash line (.273/.353/.435). But Benintendi ended the 2024 season on an upswing, batting .275/.346/.538 with 12 homers over August and September. His 20 homers were his most in a season since 2017. Having a modicum of success before the offseason offered some solace for Benintendi.

“[I] feel good about it,” Benintendi said of his confidence. "Past few years, I’ve gone into the offseason trying to figure that out. [I] didn’t have to search as much [this offseason]."

It looked like injuries would sidetrack Benintendi from building on his momentum from last season. The veteran outfielder suffered a non-displaced fracture on his right hand after being hit on his hand by left-hander Logan Allen in a Cactus League game against the Guardians.

With the bone healing quickly, the injury became more about pain tolerance, which allowed him to be the team’s designated hitter in its 8-1 win over the Angels on Thursday. Benintendi struggled through his first two at-bats — striking out in a three-pitch at-bat and getting called out on strikes. His third at-bat was an improvement, flying out to right field after getting a good swing on a sinker in the zone. He credited that third at-bat for helping him turn the page.

But with the Sox clinging to a 3-0 lead and narrowly escaping a meltdown from the bullpen in the eighth inning, Benintendi fouled himself at the plate with a chance to atone for his previous at-bats. With runners on first and third with one out, Benintendi turned a four-seam fastball high in the zone into a three-run homer to break the game open .

“That was my goal, getting into the lineup today,” Benintendi said of contributing. "It didn’t start out too hot [in] my first two at-bats. But the third at-bat locked me in a little bit and I was happy after that last at-bat.”

The Sox, as a whole, had a productive day at the plate.

"Those guys have been working hard to make quality swings," manager Will Venable said. "Fine-tuning their approaches and for it to result in some damage was nice.”

Though Benintendi said “you never want to look too much into Opening Day,” it has to be encouraging for the veteran to see some success at the plate early on after floundering for the majority of 2024.

There’s also the contract and the pressure it brings. Benitendi knows he hasn’t lived up to expectations since coming to Chicago. Benintendi, 30, has played in pressure-cooker environments like Boston and New York, so he’s used to criticism. But with two seasons remaining, Benintendi wants to play up to the standards he's set for himself throughout his career.

“My job is to go out there and play and perform, and if I don’t do that, that’s on me,” Benintendi said. “Nobody has higher expectations of myself than me. When I hear criticism, it’s 10 times worse in my own head.”