GLENDALE, Ariz. — As bad as 2024 was for everyone, it could have been worse. It being only half bad for left fielder Andrew Benintendi made his offseason a lot easier and ushered him into White Sox camp with a much better outlook for 2025.
Benintendi, the Sox’ highest paid player working on the third year of his five-year, $75 million contract, struggled big-time in the first half when the Sox were getting off to a 3-22 start. It continued until an adjustment steered him back on course, and he batted .275/.346/.538 with 12 homers and an .886 OPS in August and September. He finished with a .229/.289/.396 hitting line.
“When you get off the slow start, it wore on me a little bit,” Benintendi said Monday. “You try to make up so much with one or two at-bats and you have to take it day by day.”
Benintendi said he was stuck between a toe tap and leg lift for much of the season but stuck to the toe tap for much of the second half with better results.
“Yes we struggled last year and most guys weren’t too happy with their seasons but you have to keep going,” Benintendi said.
“When I signed here I signed for five years knowing there would be ups and downs but I’m here for it and my job is to perform. Last year I didn’t do that. Not only do I feel like I let the fans and team down, but myself. You have such high expectations going into a season and when you don’t hit them it’s frustrating. You have to keep going.”
Opportunity knocks for Montgomery
Colson Montgomery had a rough season, too, but at Triple-A Charlotte. The former first-round draft pick batted .263/.357/.465 in his last 99 at-bats, though, and stood out in the Arizona Fall League, setting him for a possible Opening Day start at shortstop.
The Sox rebuild needs to see Montgomery pan out.
“I’m expecting a lot of opportunity and a lot of competition,” Montgomery, 22, said Monday. “That’s kind of what [general manager] Chris Getz has been saying and Skip [manager Will Venable] has also been saying the same thing. We’re very fortunate for this opportunity.”
Montgomery is upbeat and appears plenty confident. But he admits the struggle “got to me a little bit.”
“I’m human,” he said. “So sometimes it’s not going to go your way and there were times where I kind of just didn’t move on from the fact that I was struggling, and I’d tell myself that I wasn’t struggling. But once I started saying ‘Yeah, I’m going through a little something, what can I do to get out of it?’ I started doing that from the end of the year until the Fall League and things started to turn around.”
Banny’s praises
Top pitching prospect Noah Schultz was pleased with the action on his changeup during his first live batting practice Sunday, offering a tip of the hat to director of pitching Brian Bannister.
“Everything he says it’s just like magic, like right away it works,” Schultz said.
White a White Sox
Right-hander Owen White was claimed off waivers from the Yankees. Once a top Rangers prospect, White, 25, posted a 5.64 ERA with Triple-A Round Rock last season and gave up eight runs in three innings with the Rangers.
To make room on the 40-man roster, lefty prospect Ky Bush, who had Tommy John surgery last week, landed on the 60-day injured list.