More than two weeks after agreeing to a franchise-record $75 million contract with free-agent outfielder Andrew Benintendi, the White Sox made the deal official Tuesday.
Under terms of the deal, Benintendi, 28, will receive a $3 million signing bonus, $8 million in 2023, $16.5 million each season from 2024 to 2026 and $14.5 million in 2027.
A good contact hitter who hit 20 home runs for the Red Sox in 2017 but only five last season but figures to benefit from Guaranteed Rate Field’s dimensions, Benintendi fills needs as a left-handed hitter and good defender. According to FanGraphs, Benintendi’s 31 defensive runs saved since 2017 lead major-league left fielders.
“Andrew fits many of the things we were looking for this offseason in terms of balancing out our lineup and adding a different type of hitter and obviously a dynamic player who has earned accolades, not just for his offense but for his defense,” general manager Rick Hahn said. “He makes us a better, well-rounded ballclub.”
Benintendi hit .304/.373/.399 between the Royals and Yankees in 2022. He was an All-Star in ’22 and a Gold Glove winner in 2021. The Yankees acquired him last season at the trade deadline.
The previous Sox record for a free-agent contract was catcher Yasmani Grandal’s $73 million in a four-year deal that expires after the 2023 season.
Benintendi, who passed his physical in Chicago on Tuesday, will be introduced at a news conference Wednesday at Guaranteed Rate Field. The deal was first reported Dec. 16.
The Sox figure to open the season with an outfield of Benintendi in left, Luis Robert in center and Cuban prospect Oscar Colas in right. The $11 million committed to Benintendi in 2023 leaves them a few million below their expected budget, although filling second base with minimum-salaried rookies Romy Gonzalez or Lenyn Sosa with veteran Leury Garcia as a backup remains a possibility.
“We’re always going to look to get better,” said Hahn, who signed free-agent starting pitcher Mike Clevinger in December. “You’re never satisfied with what your roster is, and we know there’s ways we can improve from a position-player standpoint as well as from a pitching-depth standpoint. So we’re going to continue to look.”
The Sox report to spring training Feb. 15.
“What happens over the course of the next six weeks leading into camp and then the six, seven weeks we’re in camp is impossible to predict,” Hahn said. “But certainly the way we perceive ourselves is not as a finished product at this time.”
Benintendi will wear No. 23. The Sox’ 40-man roster increases to 39.
