White Sox outfielder Andrew Benintendi will reportedly miss four to six weeks with a non-displaced fracture in his right hand after being hit by a pitch in today's spring training game, per the team. It is a crushing loss for a White Sox squad desperately needing offensive production and veteran stability.
Benintendi left today's game after being hit by a pitch in the first inning. The team initially described the injury as "soreness," but it is clearly a much more severe injury than initially thought. He will now be on the shelf for several weeks and his status for Opening Day is in severe jeopardy.
Andrew Benintendi just got plunked in the wrist. He's out of the game. pic.twitter.com/GlILk2jan4
— FutureSox (@FutureSox) February 27, 2025
Benintendi's Inconsistency and Injury Issues
Benintendi's White Sox tenure has been marred by inconsistency and injuries. He is in the third season of a five-year/$75 million contract signed in January 2023 and has not lived up to expectations thus far. Wrist and achilles issues over the past few years could partially be to blame for his overall poor performance in a White Sox uniform. However, it is worth noting that Benintendi hit 13 home runs and had an .830 OPS in 60 second-half games last season. He seemed to be healthier and was turning a corner performance-wise. The hope was that he could carry that positive momentum from last season into 2025. That is now doubtful, as he will likely have to go on a minor league rehab assignment before returning to get at-bats that he normally would have gotten during spring training.
Outfield Backup Plans
With Benintendi's status for Opening Day in jeopardy, other players will have to step up. Newly signed Mike Tauchman is the most likely beneficiary of this issue from a playing time perspective. He can cover left field in Benintendi's absence while also making up some of Benintendi's offensive production from the left side. Dominic Fletcher and Oscar Colás are both young players looking to get another crack at the majors and could also benefit from Benintendi's absence. Joey Gallo and Corey Julks are two other veterans with outfield experience already in White Sox camp as non-roster invites who might factor into the equation should they perform well in the spring.
If the White Sox look to replace Benintendi externally, the free agent options are fairly limited at this point. One option could be veteran Alex Verdugo, a 28-year-old left handed hitting outfielder who has spent parts of eight seasons in MLB and hit 13 home runs with the Yankees last season.
Silver Lining
The one silver lining to Benintendi's injury is that it happened early in the spring. Opening Day is exactly a month from today, so he might only miss a few weeks of regular season action if he doesn't suffer any setbacks during his recovery. Still, it is an unfortunate development that will prevent Benintendi from having a normal spring training and could derail what looked to be a potential bounceback season for the White Sox veteran outfielder.
Injury Bug Bites The White Sox
Ky Bush, Prelander Berroa, and Blake Larson have all gone down to injuries this spring, and Andrew Benintendi is now the latest to get the injury bug. While not ideal, he should return to action sooner rather than later and hopefully reclaim his place in left field and the middle of the White Sox lineup at some point in April.
