For the first 2½ months of the season, shortstop Tim Anderson and left fielder Andrew Benintendi were a homerless 1-2 combo at the top of the beleaguered White Sox’ lineup.
But with two homers in his last four games, Benintendi is now at four for the season — one shy of the five he hit in 2022 for the Royals and Yankees before the Sox gave him the biggest free-agent contract in team history.
He also was hitting .382/.432/.647 over his last nine games before Friday, strong enough to drag his season OPS back over .700. And he’s close enough to regular form for manager Pedro Grifol to acknowledge how compromised he has been by a sore right hand, which Benintendi received a cortisone shot for just before the All-Star break.
“He had a rough offseason with the hand injury, [and] he had another injury again during the season,” Grifol said, referring to the fractured right hamate bone that ended Benintendi’s 2022 season. “He’s played through a lot this year. I’m looking forward to a really good offseason for him, where he’s completely healthy, where he can get in the gym and get stronger and do his thing the way he normally does it in the offseason and come back really strong in spring training.”
Educational year for Anderson
Anderson’s surge after the All-Star break didn’t hold. His first home run of the season has yet to lead to others. So three straight multi-hit games since his return from a five-game suspension don’t necessarily mark the end of his yearlong search to rediscover his mechanics.
But as Anderson (2-for-5 against the Athletics on Friday night) remains mired in a nightmare season offensively, with a career-worst .242/.287/.289 batting line entering the game, Grifol is optimistic that his search to understand how his swing does and doesn’t work will pay off in the long run.
“He’s learned a ton this year — about himself, about his mind, about his swing,” Grifol said. “Learned a lot about adversity and how to get through it. His mechanics, his feel, the feel of his body. His feel in the box. He’s learned a ton.”
Quero has feel
A .333/.420/.500 batting line in his first 18 games in the Sox organization is probably all it takes to feel good about catcher Edgar Quero, the highest-rated prospect acquired in the Sox’ trade deadline sell-off. But the 20-year-old’s approach to working with pitchers at Double-A Birmingham is also getting positive early reviews.
“Quero does a great job of following the plan,” pitching coach Danny Farquhar said. “And if the plan is not working, he will adjust. He understands that you have to mess with the hitter’s timing.”
The young backstop is allowed to call his own games with the Barons — although it’s in close consultation with the coaching staff. So far, his decisions and pitch-framing are sharp enough to keep the pitchers happy.
On Quero’s ability to steal strikes, Far-quhar said: “I’m not a catching coach expert, but he fools me.”
Honeywell sticks around
Brent Honeywell, at one time the Sox’ top pitching prospect, cleared waivers after being designated for assignment Wednesday and was outrighted to Triple-A Charlotte. He had an 11.12 ERA in four appearances for the Sox, who figure to churn through a bevy of younger bullpen options over the final month.
