The White Sox announced that outfielder Andrew Benintendi has a non-displaced fracture in his right hand and will miss four to six weeks. He departed today’s spring training game after being hit by a pitch.
It’s an unfortunate blow for Benintendi and the White Sox. With the spring just getting going, he’ll now be shut down and miss the remainder of camp. Once healthy, he’ll have to head out on a rehab assignment and effectively start his spring training over again.
The Sox weren’t going to compete this year. They set a modern-day record with 121 losses in 2024. They aren’t likely to be significantly better in 2025. They did sign a few veterans to fill some roster spots but also traded Garrett Crochet to the Red Sox in exchange for prospects.
However, Benintendi had a chance to play himself into being a trade candidate, something that MLBTR looked at just yesterday. With three years and $15.83MM left on his deal and the Sox deep in a rebuild, they would surely love to move him. Any improved performance would have helped them do that while allowing Benintendi to play for a contender, a win-win for both sides.
Since signing with the Sox ahead of the 2023 season, Benintendi has hit just .246/.309/.374 for a wRC+ of 90 with poor defensive metrics to boot. But his 2024 season finished on a strong note. He had a stint on the injured in June due to left achilles tendinitis. He had hit just .195/.230/.284 before that IL stint but then slashed .251/.326/.470 the rest of the way. That latter line translated to a 124 wRC+, indicating he was 24% above league average at the plate.
That led to some hope that he could return to form in 2025, since he had hit .279/.351/.431 for a 109 wRC+ before joining the White Sox. If Benintendi has a bounceback in him, it will have to stay on ice until he gets over this injury.
The Sox will now have some early-season playing time to reallocate. Luis Robert Jr., another trade candidate that the Sox are hoping to see build value, will be the everyday guy in center. Mike Tauchman and Austin Slater could perhaps form a platoon in one corner. Michael A. Taylor is on the roster, likely viewed as a fourth outfielder/defensive replacement/pinch runner type.
Oscar Colás and Dominic Fletcher are on the 40-man roster. Each still has an option remaining and seemed ticketed for time in Triple-A but perhaps this opens some big league time for one of them. Joey Gallo is also in camp as a non-roster invitee, so this could lead to his contract being selected. Other NRIs with some big league experience include Corey Julks and Calvin Mitchell. If the Sox decide they want to bring in some more depth, players like Alex Verdugo, David Peralta and Robbie Grossman remain unsigned.
What a White Sox thing to happen.
This website literally put the evil eye on him with the article yesterday!
Yeah what a mean thing to do to an upbeat guy who’s always laughing like a little puppy when at the plate.
This guy has had tough luck with hand injuries in recent years.
Finally, an opening on this roster for a youngster to showcase himself!
No choice but to trade Robert Jr now. Donovan, Walker and Tink Hence gets it done. That move puts the Sox in the playoffs and frees up payroll for even more additions next year. A Vlad Jr pursuit isn’t out of the question especially if they get a new stadium
Reinsdorf got one new stadium from the Illinois taxpayers plus a bar where the White Sox get 100% of the revenue, he’s not getting another
Then he should move the team and go where they are wanted
Mute
You – so your definition of “where they are wanted” is wherever politicians will utilize tax payer funds to the tune of 100’s of millions of dollars to support a privately owned business?
Happy day resinsdorf as the insurance policy covers the salary, not the pocket book
Gotta be a white sox fan that came up with this trade, no STL fan can be this delusional? 1) STL is trying to trading off veteran players so they can play their youth, they are not going to trade for an OF who was injured most of last year when they are about to rebuild. Not to mention they are not moving that big a package for Roberts even if they decide to change course. 2) the white sox owner is never giving a player 500 mil, so vlad jr is not happening.
Cardinals finished 83-79 last year and have young talent already making an impact. I could see them buying low on a player like Robert. His contract ends on 2025, and there’s club options for 2026-27. It’s not a huge risk because if he’s bad they can just let him go, but if he’s good they can take the option and have a prime player for 2 more years. Just because the Cardinals are trying to get rid of their big contracts doesn’t mean they won’t take on a medium one if they think they can fix him. He should be relatively cheap to acquire in trade because of his health and bad 2024. The White Sox should hold out on trading Robert until midseason.
No. An opening to sign a veteran past his prime
MLBTR jinxed this dude with their recent article.
I was actually excited when Yankees traded for him, but he’s not the same player he was in Boston. I’m not sure why he’s still a young player. The fact he didn’t want to stay in New York was a blessing
“I’m not sure why he’s still a young player.”
This might be the funniest thing I’ve read here in a bit, but I get what you’re saying. He’s been in the league forever already.
That’s why punctuation is a thing. I had to read that sentence twice.
Rick Hahn jinxed the Sox when he signed that dude for 5 years.
they were jinxed long before then
So many injuries occur bc of HBPs
Last yr josh jung was hit on the wrist, missed nearly the entire season, had multiple surgeries.
Austin riley missed 3 months after a HBP
Pitchers need to better control where & how they throw for f sake. Careers are on the line
Damn, why haven’t any of the pitchers or coaches ever thought of that? You’re a genius!
I have thought of that. PLUNK!
Since MLB continues dragging its feet implementing the ABS system, perhaps they will turn their attention to that “Dune” shield technology which blocks anything except slow projectiles. With proper calibration, there would be no more batter injuries from any pitch faster than the eephus! 🙂
Each team plays 162 games every year. MLB teams average 146 pitches per game. That’s 23,652 pitches per team, per season. There are going to be misses.
OR yknow… hitters can get off of the plate
Hitters crowding the plate and diving in is the biggest cause since any pitcher throwing inside is come down on by the commissioners office these days.
ZERO incentive to crack the whip on pitchers who cannot control their thrown balls. No penalty given to either the pitcher who throws a pitch that causes lost time injury or to the team he plays for. Only the team of the injured player is penalized due to losing the services of the player as well as the player himself who suffers through the pain of the injury and both short term and long term ramifications on his brief professional career.
Well said, Jackson. Also the over emphasis on velocity sacrifices control. Guys should be learning how to place the ball before they go for triple digits on the radar gun.
Batters should be better about getting out of the f***ing way. Benintendi certainly isn’t powerful enough to be diving out over the plate like a baboon. There should be a fine for this. Mookie missed an MVP last year because he wouldn’t. Move.
A baboon? Do enlighten us!
More racism from you. Good god man it’s 2025. Wake up
Benintendi is black?
There are white baboons dummy
Youjustmadethatup
February 27, 2025
Troy- you obviously didn’t take the few seconds to actually watch the video of him getting hit. He was not crowding the plate AT ALL. There should be a fine every time a pitcher hits a batter who isn’t hanging over the plate.
This does not accurate to me
With three years and $15.83MM left on his deal
According to Roster Resource that number is only off by about $33.5MM. Looks like he has about $49.2 left.
Maybe an average of $15.83 mil per year over three years
Yes, but worded incorrectly by the writer
Definitely addition by subtraction
Tough break for the wsox,and im sure his hand ain’t feeling too good right now, ouch..
Well, a fringe MLB veteran OF just made the OD roster who otherwise would not have…..or DeLoach/Colas depending on how they handle their corner OF smorgasbord.
Colas and Fletcher are on the 40-man and DeLoach is not so they have to be favored
There go the White Sox’ playoff hopes.
As if the White Sox can’t get any worse.
Probably opens the door for Gallo to open the season with the big club
Is this really an unfortunate blow for the SS? They’re already gonna blow
The pitcher who threw the pitch that broke the batter’s hand should immediately be suspended and remain so until Benintendi is fully able to resume baseball activities at 100%. This antiquated notion of one team losing a player to injury while the other team gets away with saying, “OOPS, S-O-R-R-Y, Well, it’s just part of the game” is just no longer appropriate with regard to the game and the way it is played today. MLB NEEDS TO ACT and to correct this injustice and inequity. Both for the team that suffers the avoidable loss of a player to injury and for the player who is injured with suffering through both the injury and the recovery from that injury. Perhaps affecting the long term trajectory of their entire professional career both short term and long term.
Short sighted comment. Most pitchers, if not all, are not throwing intentionally at a guy. However, if a batter is over the plate and has their hands in or around the zone then maybe they should not be on top of the plate to begin with. Pitchers have the right to throw around the plate.
This has NOTHING to do with intentionally being a HBP, nor have I ever taken my stance on that issue. Completely a different matter. If the player’s hands are over the plate and in the strike zone, that is on the player, not the pitcher. AND on the Home Plate Umpire for allowing the batter to have his hands there in the first place.
If we had a foolproof way of ascertaining intent, I’d agree with you, but e don’t, and we have batters that crowd the plate. Bonds used to do it–crowd the plate while wearing armor. Anthony Rizzo lost time lst yer to two broken fingers after being HBP. But Rizzo is 8th all time in cumulative HBP
Jacksson – What’s your stance on a comebacker? How about a foul tip that causes injury? A foul ball hits a spectator? Homerun ball bruises my hand, causes me to miss work for two weeks… should I be compensated? How about an errant throw on the diamond or hard slide like Utley did against Tejada? Part of the game maybe?
Some people are saying MLBTR jinxed him.
An average of $15.83 million, to clarify. 17.1 million each of the next two years.
Can the White Sox just rebuild and get back to disappointing their fans late in the season for old times sake? Hire Kenny Williams back…atleast he’ll instinctively try to relive the 05 team. Guys are 50 now. But it’d be way more entertaining to see Bobby Jenks get shelled than any of this.
Mark Buehrle would toss games in 1:15 now with a pitch clock in effect.
This will have an impact in winning division
The White Sox are using Benintendi’s injury as a strategic opportunity to manipulate his trade value, transforming a potential liability into a more palatable asset for future transactions.
STOP USING ChatGPT! WE GET!!
@el_chapo_
I’m not, though.
@el_chapo_
I received a message from someone on here who said I need to stop being so obnoxious and start being serious about discussing baseball, so I’ve changed my manner of posting. If you don’t like it, don’t read it. You can keep posting baseball memes if you like…