According to Bob Nightengale, the White Sox are trying to shop their highest paid player of all time, Andrew Benintendi.
In his article, Nightengale says:
“The White Sox are openly shopping outfielder Andrew Benintendi, and would love to get out of his contract. He’s still owed nearly $50 million from 2025-2027.”
Bob Nightengale, USA Today.
This comes as a surprise, as many figured the White Sox were stuck with Benintendi, as it was assumed that nobody would want that contract for the way Benintendi is playing this season. However, it seems that they are determined to find someone who will take him on in a trade. Perhaps the White Sox are pitching the idea that a change of scenery could return Benintendi to his past form.
On the season, Benintendi is currently hitting .197 with a .247 OBP. He has six homeruns and 22 RBIs, which is a solid number for him, but he has been lost at the plate for the most part this season. If he could get his line similar to what he finished with last year, a team may be more inclined to make a move for him at the deadline.
If a team was intrigued enough to trade for Benintendi, they would be taking a gamble that he would be able to return to the player he was on the Kansas City Royals, Boston Red Sox, and the New York Yankees, as he has been very disappointing since joining the White Sox.
When the White Sox signed Benintendi to a 15 million a year deal, it seemed like a solid deal due to his past production. It was the richest free agency contract given out in White Sox history, but for a lot of teams, that isn’t much, so it might not be as hard to move it as many people think. However, the way he is playing, it may be hard to justify paying him that much money.
The White Sox could look to swap bad contracts with another team, hopefully taking on one that will expire sooner than Benintendi, as they still have three more seasons on his deal. The White Sox could throw him in on another deal, but it would likely minimize the return on another player, which isn’t ideal. You also don’t want to give up a solid prospect to entice another team to take him in a trade, as you need to keep all the young talent you can at this point, not trade it away.
I can’t see the White Sox retaining a significant amount of salary to help facilitate a trade, so hopefully Benintendi can catch fire over the next month, giving a team a reason to take a chance on him. I’m not sure how this will play out, but it will be an interesting storyline to follow over the next month.