Sox outfielder Benintendi looking to boost on-base percentage

GLENDALE, Ariz — Andrew Benintendi has hit 20 home runs in each of his last two seasons with the White Sox, but the left-handed hitting outfielder believes he might help the team more as an on-base maven.

“Obviously the last few years I've kind of gone (to) more slug, opposed to on-base and average-wise,” Benintendi said Saturday, on the eve of the first full-squad workout. “But now with some guys with some more pop, my job would probably be to get on base now and score some runs.

“So that's something I'll talk to the hitting coaches about, and we'll go over. So once we get that going, we'll settle into that.”

The emergence of Colson Montgomery, who hit 21 home runs in the second half of his rookie season, and the addition of Munetaka Murakami, who averaged 33 home runs in eight seasons with the Yakult Swallows in Japan, have swayed Benintendi into believing he might help the team more by simply reaching base more frequently.

Benintendi posted a .353 on-base percentage in his first five seasons with the Red Sox, but he his on-base mark hasn’t been above .307 in each of his last two seasons.

“Benny is a hitter, and I think that whether it's power, getting on base, contact, he can do it all,” Sox manager Will Venable said. “He's got a lot of different clubs in his bag.

“For him, it's going to be just being healthy and being out there. How that compliments the lineup with the rest of the guys, I think that can look a lot of different ways.”

Benintendi said he took some weight off his 5-foot-10, 185-pound frame to alleviate stress on his left Achilles that nagged him since July and eventually led to him being placed on the injured list for the final week of the 2025 season.

“Right now, it feels 100 percent,” Benintendi said.

Right on time

It’s an annual tradition with the hype when position players arrive early. Infielder Lenyn Sosa was en route to Arizona after the birth of a child, and infielder/outfielder Luisangel Acuna also was expected to arrive in time for Sunday's first full squad workout after experiencing a delay in obtaining his visa from his native Venezuela.

“These guys are on their way and are excited to get here, we’re excited to have them,” Venable said.

High school reunion

When the Sox acquired Tanner Murray, 26, as part of a four-player trade with the Rays, it sparked a reunion with 32-year-old left-hander Tyler Gilbert. The twosome attended San Lorenzo Valley High School in California

“His graduation picture was in black and white,” Murray quipped.