White Sox land free agent left fielder Andrew Benintendi

The White Sox addressed their need for an outfielder Friday, signing free agent Andrew Benintendi to a five-year, $75 million contract.

The deal, not yet announced but confirmed to the Sun-Times, surpasses the Sox’ previous high for a player contract. Catcher Yasmani Grandal is entering the fourth season of a $73 million deal.

Benintendi, 28, batted .304/.373/.399 with five homers and a .772 OPS between the Royals and Yankees in 2022, striking out in just 14.8% of his plate appearances. He’s a .279/.351/.431 hitter with a .782 OPS and 73 homers over seven seasons during his career, which includes his first five seasons with the Red Sox. As a rookie, Benintendi was the AL Rookie of the Year runnerup to the Yankees’ Aaron Judge.

Benintendi was a Gold Glove left fielder with the Royals in 2021 and an All-Star last season. He has appeared in 678 games in left field and 71 in center field during his career.

With a career .808 OPS against right-handers, Benintendi provides a left-handed bat that will help balance a right-hand heavy Sox lineup as well as a defensive upgrade in the outfield. He figures to settle in at left field, with Luis Robert in center and prospect Oscar Colas competing for a starting job in right field next season.

Slugger Eloy Jimenez is expected to get considerable time at designated hitter, where he excelled last season.

With Robert dealing with injuries for much of the season and converted first basemen Andrew Vaughn and Gavin Sheets playing corner outfield positions and the defensively challenged Jimenez appearing in 30 in left field, the Sox had one of the poorest defensive outfields in the majors.

A healthy Robert — who won a Gold Glove in center as a rookie in 2020 — a swifter option in right with Colas and the former Gold Glover in Benintendi in left shores up the outfield nicely.

“We’ve got to improve defensively, obviously,” first-year manager Pedro Grifol said the day he was hired.

“Obviously, defensively, we weren’t quite the club that we are capable of being,” general manager Rick Hahn said.

Grifol, the Royals’ former bench coach, watched Benintendi play in 2021 and for Benintendi’s first 93 games of last season before he was traded to the Yankees for three minor leaguers July 27.

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