Andrew Benintendi out 4-6 weeks with fracture

The White Sox collected their first spring win of the season Thursday, defeating the Cleveland Guardians, 4-2.

The victory came at a price, however, as left fielder Andrew Benintendi will miss four to six weeks with a non-displaced fracture in his right hand. The veteran was struck with a pitch from Cleveland left-hander Logan Allen in the bottom of the first inning.

The injury comes exactly four weeks before the season opener on March 27, so we should not expect to see Benintendi back in the lineup by then. Mid-April is probably a more realistic timeline.

Earlier this month, I noted that the Sox outfield was pretty much set, with Luis Robert Jr., Benintendi, Austin Slater, Mike Tauchman and Michael A. Taylor all in camp on major league contracts.

The injury gods had other ideas, and now there's a spot open. Dominic Fletcher and Oscar Colas are the other two outfielders on the 40-man roster, so one would assume that opportunity will knock for one of them.

If I'm being honest, I've seen about enough of Colas. I've watched three of the six spring games, and I've already seen the 26-year-old Cuban make two egregious defensive miscues -- including one where a fly ball smacked him right in the face. 

Fletcher, 27, played 72 games with the Sox last season, and he demonstrated that he cannot hit. He batted just .206/.252/.256 with one home run, only eight doubles and 17 RBIs. That said, Fletcher has shown that he is a plus defender at corner outfield spots, and he can stand in center field in a pinch (although Taylor is best suited to back up Robert Jr. in that role.)

When choosing a backup outfielder, I prefer the guy who can catch the ball, so I'll take Fletcher over Colas.

If you're wondering about free agent outfielders, Alex Verdugo, Aaron Hicks, Robbie Grossman, Adam Duvall and David Peralta are all still out there.

Verdugo, 29, is the only one of that group younger than age 35. He batted .233/.291/.356 with the New York Yankees last season. That doesn't wow anyone, and it seems unlikely that Sox ownership will open the wallet to raise the floor of the team to compensate for a short-term injury.

Fletcher or Colas it shall likely be.

Andrew Benintendi for White Sox designated hitter?

In a minor move Tuesday, the White Sox reportedly agreed to terms with outfielder Michael A. Taylor on a one-year-deal worth $1.95 million.

Taylor continues making the rounds in the AL Central. He played for the Kansas City Royals in 2021-22, winning a Gold Glove as a center fielder in 2021. From there, he joined the Minnesota Twins in 2023, where he hit a career-high 21 homers.

Alas, Taylor fell on rough times last season with the Pittsburgh Pirates, slumping to a .193/.253/.290 slash line with only five home runs in 113 games.

The 34-year-old is a lifetime .235 batter with 120 career stolen bases. He has speed and can play credible defense in center, where he has played 921 of his 1,001 career games. He has a 10.4 defensive WAR for his career.

You might be thinking, so what? Taylor's just another extra outfielder at the end of his career. And he's probably here to be the center fielder when Luis Robert Jr. gets traded midseason to a contender for prospects.

But here's my thinking: In the short run, does this get weak-armed Andrew Benintendi out of left field and into the designated hitter role?

The Sox infield is very much in flux going into spring training, but I think I know who the five rostered outfielders are going to be: Robert, Benintendi, Taylor, Mike Tauchman and Austin Slater.

The working presumption has been that Tauchman and Slater will platoon in right field, with Benintendi in left and Robert in center.

My proposal is Slater in left, Robert in center, Tauchman in right and Benintendi at DH. Taylor is your late-inning defensive replacement. Or, sometimes, Taylor plays center while Robert takes some DH plate appearances to hopefully stay healthy.

One of the many problems the Sox had last season: Opponents took extra bases at will on Benintendi's weak arm in left. Heck, they were tagging up and advancing on medium-deep flyouts. That can't continue.

If you think putting a credible defense on the field can yield a few more wins, and I do, the Sox need to consider making this change.

One might argue that Benintendi's bat is too weak to hold down the DH spot. That's fair, and if this were a contending team, I'd agree. 

But, it's worth noting that Benintendi recovered enough from a slow start in 2024 to total 20 homers, with 12 of those coming after Aug. 1. He had a .952 OPS in August and a .807 OPS in September. Really, if Benintendi could pull his OPS up around .750 for a season, that would be fine for a DH on a rebuilding team.

Why not give it a try?