If the White Sox had their sights set on Andrew Benintendi in the 2015 draft before the Boston Red Sox took him one spot earlier, then you can say they got their man.
It just cost about $70 million more in free agency, versus the bonus value for the seventh spot.
First reported by a few different Twitter gadflies (Ozzies_burner being the first I saw) and confirmed by ESPN's Jesse Rogers, the White Sox landed Benintendi on a franchise-record deal, although "franchise-record" doesn't mean a whole lot in this context. He's coming to Chicago on a five-year, $75 million deal, which tops Yasmani Grandal's $72 million commitment for the new high. Grandal's was on a four-year contract, so Benintendi's AAV isn't that remarkable. That's partially because Benintendi has been more average than above-average over the course of his career.
(With Grandal getting $72 million in 2020 and Benintendi getting $75 million starting in 2023, the White Sox are on pace to reach a $100 million contract by 2050.)
Benintendi's coming off a successful year between the Royals and Yankees, although he did more for the Royals than the Yankees. He hit .304/.373/.399 on the whole, good for a 3 WAR season when factoring in his acceptable left-field defense.
2022 was Benintendi's second-best season, coming up short of his breakout in Boston in 2017, when he hit .271/.352/.424 with 20 homers, 26 doubles and 20 stolen bases. He hit just five homers this time around, with a broken hamate in early September dashing his hopes for a Yankee Stadium boost.
My first impressions: If you're optimistic, Benintendi gives the Sox an actual real outfielder, and while he hit just 22 homers over the last two years. Statcast says he would've hit 39 were all his games played at Guaranteed Rate Field (remember what I said on Thursday about being the best park for lefty power?). He's 28, so he should have plenty of production left, especially for a lefty. He does pretty much all of his extra-base damage against righties, but he hangs in well enough against lefties (.269/.347/.328, 15 walks to 19 strikeouts) to not require a caddy.
If you're pessimistic, the White Sox don't have a great track record with guys who experienced season-ending injuries the year before. If that turns out to be no issue, Benintendi still is especially reliant on his hit tool. He can draw the occasional walk, but he has no other standout skill.
The good news is that he carries a lifetime BABIP of .324, so the hit tool shouldn't dry up on him. The Bill James Handbook 2023 says Benintendi actually came up with five extra hits due to shifts, so part of me wonders if opposing teams might be having a favor done for them by being forced to play him in a straightforward fashion.
At first glance, while I would've preferred somebody with a more defined skill set, Benintendi checks most of the boxes, most notably a real outfielder who can take a pitch and helps balance the lineup from the left-handed batter's box. If Benintendi reverts to being an average outfielder, then it's not a great use of a franchise-record deal, but whose fault is that?
