This White Sox free agent signing was a disaster in 2023

A lot of the decisions that the Chicago White Sox have made over the last decade have come back to look bad over time. That is part of what got both Rick Hahn and Kenny Williams fired earlier in the year.

One of the last decisions that they made in free agency was to bring in Andrew Benintendi. He was a great player in his career with the Boston Red Sox, Kansas City Royals, and New York Yankees.

For some reason, good players don't play well all the time when they put on that black and white jersey. That happened to Benintendi as his first year with the White Sox was well below expectations for a lot of the season.

He now has the biggest contract in the history of the Chicago White Sox which is not good considering how he played in his first season with the club.

The White Sox are regretting the contract they gave Andrew Benintendi.

In 148 games so far, he has slashed .265/.329/.361 for an OPS of .690. He has five home runs, 45 RBIs, and 72 runs scored. On the defensive side of things, he has been very below average in left field. All of this has him with a WAR of 0.2.

He isn't a negative player but he is certainly far below being the highest-paid player in franchise history. For the money he makes, his numbers should be more similar to Luis Robert Jr. than Elvis Andrus.

This isn't to say that Benintendi's entire White Sox career is going to be a disaster but the early returns are very worrisome. His underwhelming season is a big reason for the team's lack of winning.

We can only hope that an off-season that doesn't include free agency helps him focus on returning in the spring ready to have a great year. He needs to have a big start next March and April otherwise he is going to be in trouble once again.

If he has a bad year again, then there will be little hope that he is ever a good player with the White Sox. It is already fair to worry after this disaster of a season. They need more from him as soon as possible.

With five games left, this season is done but it would be nice to see him finish strong in those games too. He is a part of the future right now and he needs to perform better.