The Chicago White Sox claimed their first spring training win yesterday in their 4-2 victory against the Guardians, but it came at a cost.
Andrew Benintendi left the game after being struck by an 87mph fastball on his first pitch in the game. He is expected to miss four to six weeks with a non-displaced fractured right hand and doesn’t need surgery.
Benintendi will be missed from the lineup on Opening Day.
Although he had a slow start last year, his second half of the season was much better. Benintendi batted .272 and slugged .521 with 14 home runs in 61 games. His late momentum last year was supposed to help revitalize the Sox this spring.
The Sox now have 32 days to determine who will be their starting left fielder. Luckily, their outfield depth supplies enough satisfactory options in the interim.
Austin Slater and Mike Tauchmann are the front runners to earn the starting left field role.
Slater’s primary outfield experience lies in center field, but he has enough experience in left. He has started 176 games in left field in his eight-year career with the Giants, Reds, and Orioles.
Slater has a .986 fielding percentage and has only committed three errors in left field. Although his hitting fell off a cliff in 2024, his ability to mash lefties with a career .271 batting average against left-handed pitchers would help in the lineup, which ranked 27th in the league against southpaws with a .220 batting average.
Tauchman is also a utility outfielder whose secondary position is left field. He has a career .986 fielding percentage and only tallied three errors in his seven years in left field.
Tacuhman’s ability to draw walks is an asset to the lineup. Since returning from the KBO, he has drawn 103 walks in 217 games. Another strength is his ability to put the ball in play and keep the pitcher working, as indicated by his career 23.7 strikeout percentage.
Tauchman has the edge over Slater for the starting job. Tauchman’s strong defensive abilities in the field offer an advantage over Slater, and his lefty bat replaces Benintendi’s in the lineup. His patience at the plate and contact hitting would also land him at the top of the lineup, making him the perfect substitute for Benintendi.
This isn’t how Sox fans expected the season to start, but a change in the lineup might bring better results than expected.