GLENDALE, Ariz. — Left fielder Andrew Benintendi took live batting practice for the first time Monday since suffering a broken bone in his right hand. If all goes well, Benentindi will be the designated hitter in the White Sox’ Cactus League game at the Brewers Wednesday as he clings to hope of starting the season with the rest of his teammates.
“Any Opening Day is exciting,” Benintendi said. “Start of a new chapter. Everybody is excited to get out here and play meaningful games.”
Benintendi hasn’t appeared in a game since Guardians lefty Logan Allen hit him on the hand with a pitch, causing a non-displaced fracture of a bone beneath his pinky knuckle.
“I feel a lot better than I anticipated,” Benintendi said. “Things kind of progressed better than we thought. . . . The bone itself is healed. At this point, it’s just pain tolerance.”
Benintendi said he has been hitting for four or five days. His swing isn’t affected much, he said, although it likely won’t feel 100% until he’s through the original recovery timetable of four to six weeks. As for how many at-bats he’ll need to be ready?
“I guess we’ll find out,” he said. “We’ll see where we’re at. But [I’m] pretty confident that it won’t be overwhelming.”
Benintendi is entering his 10th season in the majors.
“Definitely don’t want to miss Opening Day,” he said. “You want to be in this clubhouse with these guys playing. If it takes a little pain swinging a bat to do it, so be it.”
Sox manager Will Venable said Benintendi being ready for the opener “sounds like a possibility.”
“We still just take it day by day and respect the fact he’s working hard to get back healthy,” Venable said. “We want that to happen quickly, but we’ll be responsible and kind of take it day by day.”
Venable said he was surprised by Benintendi’s rapid progress.
“I thought these things took longer,” he said. “But, yeah, credit to Beni for getting in there and getting treatment — and obviously it’s working. Whatever he’s eating, whatever he’s doing is expediting this thing. Surprised, but really good news.”
Toe, no!
The news for infielder Josh Rojas isn’t as good. Venable said he suffered a hairline fracture in his right big toe while making a tag at third base Saturday. It wasn’t immediately known how much time Rojas, who initially thought he sprained the toe, will need to be ready to play.
“Hopefully he’s back here with us soon,” Venable said. “From what I’ve heard, it’s pain tolerance. I don’t think there’s anything he can do running around out there that’s going to make it worse. It’s about him being comfortable and running out there. But obviously, it’s fractured. He’s in some pain now. So we’ll give him his time to heal up and just do everything we can to support him.”
Fletcher, catchers among 11 cuts
Outfielder Dominic Fletcher was optioned to Triple-A Charlotte, and top catching prospects Kyle Teel and Edgar Quero were among 10 players reassigned to minor-league camp. The Sox were expected to open with Korey Lee and Matt Thaiss as their catchers, but Teel and Quero are expected to debut this season.
Right-handers Mason Adams, Justin Dunn, Jonathan Heasley and Peyton Pallette also were sent to the minors with infielders Andre Lipcius and Cal Mitchell and outfielders Zach DeLoach and Corey Julks. The Sox have 42 players remaining in camp: 20 pitchers, three catchers, 12 infielders and seven outfielders.
Giants 3, Sox 0
Jonathan Cannon, still looking for a good spring outing, gave up three runs over 3⅓ innings and had to be relieved in the third with his pitch count growing. He has one more start before the season opens March 27. He threw 64 pitches, 36 for strikes.
• Meanwhile, 42-year-old Justin Verlander breezed through five scoreless innings against a top Sox lineup, allowing three hits and striking out six. Verlander has a 1.69 ERA
this spring.
• Brandon Drury stayed hot, going 3-for-3, with two of his singles against Verlander. Playing second base, Drury raised his spring hitting line to .410/.439/.821 in 13 games. He’s 16-for-39.
• Chase Meidroth, trying to win an Opening Day spot at shortstop, is taking pitches and working counts but saw his average sink to .107 by going 0-for-4 with two strikeouts.
• Center fielder Michael A. Taylor turned a diving catch into a double play, helping a struggling Cannon. Taylor is batting .174.
• The Giants are 16-5 in Cactus League games. The Sox are 8-15.
Sox rotation members approve of surprise pick Sean Burke to start the season opener.
Signed to a minor-league contract, Gallo struggled at the plate this spring.
The right-hander with four games of experience got the nod to start against the Angels on March 27 in Chicago.
‘Walking mythological creature’ Bo Jackson talked to the White Sox at spring training.
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