On Wednesday, the Chicago White Sox finally got the chance to introduce their newest acquisition in outfielder Andrew Benintendi.
The 2022 All-Star was signed by the White Sox for five years and $75 million.
The 28-year-old hit for a career-high .304 average during the regular season with the Kansas City Royals and New York Yankees.
After the veteran outfielder was introduced, former MLB slugger Cliff Floyd, now an analyst for MLB Network, took some time to break down the signing of Benintendi and how he has made the necessary improvements to return to his run-producing ways and what ultimately worked for him.
Andrew Benintendi finished 2022 with a career-best .304 average ♨️
Fellow lefty @CliffFloyd30 analyzes the successful approach of the @whitesox marque signing and why it's so important for him to spray the ball to all fields.#MLBTonight | @asben16 pic.twitter.com/12NCmDXyZ0
— MLB Network (@MLBNetwork) January 5, 2023
Benintendi hit for more power during his time with the Boston Red Sox and was certainly hurt by the shift in previous years, but Floyd pointed out one thing that has worked for the former World Series champion.
Floyd pointed out that in his early days with the Red Sox, Benintendi had a signature leg kick when he swung the bat.
When the shift became more pronounced in 2020 and 2021, the leg kick disappeared and Benintendi was struggling to find holes.
However, by 2022, the All-Star outfielder had made the necessary adjustments in order to reverse his fortunes.
While his power numbers were still down, the 28-year-old had returned to his signature leg kick and was able to find holes more easily.
Floyd also played a clip of Benintendi’s interview on Wednesday with Alanna Rizzo, when the outfielder expressed his confidence in hitting to all fields.
This should help Benintendi as he looks to build off of his 2022 success.
