White Sox, Andrew Benintendi agree to $75M, 5-year deal, AP source says
Yankees' Andrew Benintendi reacts at first base after his RBI single against the New York Mets during the seventh inning of an MLB baseball game at Yankee Stadium on Tuesday, Aug. 23, 2022. Credit: Kathleen Malone-Van Dyke
CHICAGO — The Chicago White Sox agreed to a $75 million, five-year contract with All-Star outfielder Andrew Benintendi, a person familiar with the situation said Friday.
The deal is pending a physical. ESPN first reported the agreement.
The 28-year-old Benintendi helped Boston capture a World Series championship in 2018. He won a gold glove with Kansas City in 2021 and was chosen to his first All-Star team last season before the Royals traded him to the New York Yankees on July 27. He hit a career-high .304 in 126 games, though his home run total dropped to five from 17 in 2021.
Benintendi batted .254 in 33 games with the Yankees and missed the playoffs because of a broken right wrist. He has a .279 average and 73 homers over seven seasons with Boston, Kansas City and New York.
Benintendi reunites with new White Sox manager Pedro Grifol, who took over for Hall of Famer Tony La Russa after spending the past 10 years in a variety of coaching roles with Kansas City.
Chicago is looking to bounce back from a disappointing 2022 season, when it went 81-81 and finished 11 games back of surprising AL Central champion Cleveland. The White Sox were coming off back-to-back playoff appearances and ran away with the division in 2021.
