On Tuesday, Rick Hahn told reporters via Zoom that the White Sox weren't counting on Andrew Benintendi's homer total to jump based on moving from Kauffman Stadium's spacious power alleys to Guaranteed Rate Field's cozier dimensions. He could see it happening, but he said they signed Benintendi because of the player he's been, and not necessarily the one he could be.
On Wednesday, Benintendi sounded willing to go where Hahn wouldn't.
“For me, playing at Kauffman in 2021 I got pretty frustrated just flying out to, we joked about it all the time, these long flyouts,” Benintendi said. “I’m not the biggest guy, it’s going to take everything I can to hit a ball out of that stadium. So going into last year, I was thinking let’s just hit for higher average and higher on-base and hopefully this works, or I’m going to be in a world of trouble. I’m trying to be a complete hitter.” [...]
“Playing in (Guaranteed Rate), a lot of those long flyouts will turn into doubles and home runs without even trying to change anything,” Benintendi said. “Whatever player they need me to be, that’s who I’ll try to be.”
Pedro Grifol introduced Benintendi in person a day after Hahn's remote session. You'd think that the team's franchise-record acquisition would demand all of the team's key decision-makers to be in one place on the same day, but maybe the White Sox know deep down that $75 million isn't really a figure worth commemorating. (The Sox said Hahn was traveling Wednesday, for what it's worth.)
Benintendi was asked about his status as the recipient of the team's most lucrative contract, and he probably spoke for more people than himself around the team when he said "it's almost an uncomfortable conversation to have."
“I’m very grateful but for me it’s like, I’m not a material guy or whatever it is. It’s nice to have. My job is to show up and play and win baseball games. It’s the same whether I’m the highest number or the lowest number, it doesn’t matter to me. It’s all about winning games and getting out there and helping the team any way I can.
“Definitely excited to be here. It’s humbling to know that, but now, I’m ready to kick things off.”
There's nothing actually humbling about receiving the biggest-ever contract. Gordon Beckham getting traded for a player to be named later? Now that's humbling. Carlos Rodón getting non-tendered? Super-humbling.
In most cases, I'd chalk this up to Benintendi attempting to express pride with a veneer of modesty, as most who misuse "humbling" do. Here, the idea of $75 million representing a record contract indicates that he signed with a humble franchise, so this is the time to cut him some slack.
As for Grifol, there was nothing humble about the adjectives he assigned to the Benintendi signing. He brought the effusiveness you'd usually see from the GM at such a press conference.
“He’s a very versatile player,” Grifol said. “As far as where we hit him in the lineup, he’s done everything in the game. He’s hit for average. He’s hit for some power. He definitely runs the bases well. He fits really well into what we’re trying to do here.
“He fits perfect. He fits perfect in this ballclub. He fits perfect in this park. He’s exactly what we were looking for this offseason.”
Benintendi's fit in left field would seemingly confine Eloy Jiménez to DH duties, but Grifol wouldn't go so far as to say that Jiménez should hang up his glove. He said he told Jiménez to continue to work on the outfield, and "to work some in right field as well."
The first sentiment is understandable, because even if relieving Jiménez of his defensive duties is easier on everybody's well being, he's the best of a bunch of bad candidates should Benintendi miss time. As for the second part, here's hoping that Oscar Colás or an addition to be named later makes that much, much harder to say with a straight face.
