A key piece of the 2018 championship Boston Red Sox roster has found a new home in free agency.
Andrew Benintendi signed a five-year contract worth $75 million with the Chicago White Sox on Friday, according to ESPN's Jeff Passan.
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Benintendi spent the first five seasons of his MLB career in Boston, amassing a .273/.353/.435 slash line with 51 homers and 260 RBI in 485 games. The 28-year-old's most memorable Red Sox moment was his game-saving diving catch in Game 4 of the 2018 ALCS.
Before the 2021 MLB season, the Red Sox traded Benintendi to the Kansas City Royals in a three-team deal also involving the New York Mets. They received Franchy Cordero, Josh Winckowski, Freddy Valdez, Luis De La Rosa, Grant Gambrell in exchange for their homegrown outfielder.
Benintendi hit .276 with 17 home runs and 73 RBI while earning his first Gold Glove award in his debut season with the Royals. In 2022, he changed his approach at the plate to hit for contact and it paid dividends. He made his first All-Star team before being traded to the New York Yankees at the deadline and went on to post a career-best .304 batting average.
