It seems that Andrew Benintendi recovers quickly. In a Cactus League game on February 27, the left fielder for the Chicago White Sox, formerly a Razorback, was struck by a pitch and sustained a fracture to his right hand.
It was anticipated that he would miss the remainder of spring training and most likely the start of the White Sox’s season, which begins on April 27 in Chicago against the Los Angeles Angels.
The good news is that Benintendi batted third in the White Sox’s spring training game on Wednesday. After hitting practice on Monday, he felt confident enough to start for Chicago against the Milwaukee Brewers.
In the first inning of Thursday’s Cactus League spring training game in Tempe, Arizona, he was struck on the right hand by a fastball that escaped Cleveland Guardians pitcher Logan Allen at 87 mph.
The White Sox reported the injury the day after it occurred, describing it as a non-displaced fracture of his right hand, which does not require surgery.
Since taking swings in the batting cage last Thursday, Benintendi, 30, has advanced faster than anticipated and without suffering any setbacks.
The White Sox rely on his ability to produce at the plate. With a.263/.328/.502 slash line, 13 home runs, 12 doubles, 38 RBIs, and 21 walks, Benintendi had an incredible second half of 2024.
There were just 213 at-bats in 60 games with that high-end output. Like the feared hitter he was at Arkansas, he was playing like an All Star.
At that rate, Benintendi would hit 35 home runs and 102 RBIs throughout the course of a full 162-game season, surpassing his 2022 totals during his time as an American League All-Star.
Three walk-off hits, including two home runs that he really hammered, were the high points of that second-half surge.
Benintendi’s five-year, $75 million contract is in its third season. For the remaining portion of the deal, he owes $47.5 million.
After his historic sophomore season with the Razorbacks, in which he won the Golden Spikes Award as the finest player in college baseball, the sweet-swinging lefty was selected by the Boston Red Sox with the seventh overall pick.
He improved significantly from his freshman to sophomore year, when he became eligible for the draft, but he only played for Arkansas coach Dave Van Horn for two seasons.
Benintendi played center field and hit.376/.488/.717 with 20 home runs, 57 RBIs, 62 runs, and 24 steals while winning national player of the year. He had an outstanding OPS of 1.205, over 450 percentage points more than the average for Division I batters.
He continued to move quickly, and on August 2, 2016, he made his Major League debut. In the postseason, he hit a home run and went 3-for-9.
After future Hall of Famer Aaron Judge, he came in second in the Rookie of the Year poll. With 20 home runs, 90 RBIs, 84 runs, 26 doubles, and 20 stolen bases, Benintendi’s batting average was.271.
The White Sox are hoping he stays healthy for the remainder of the season and gets close to those marks once more.
