NEW YORK — The Chicago White Sox placed outfielder Andrew Benintendi on the injured list with left Achilles tendinitis on Tuesday, before their series opener against the New York Yankees.
Benintendi said he has been bothered by the injury since shortly before the All-Star break.
“It’s gotten to a point where running and jogging, it’s pretty painful,” the 31-year-old Benintendi said. “We all agree that it’s the right move.”
Benintendi did not start the last four games of Chicago’s final homestand and said he was playing through the injury since the White Sox were swept by the Dodgers in Los Angeles July 1-3.
“We’re trying to figure out what it really is,” Benintendi said. “The Achilles looks good. It’s just a lot of inflammation and things like that. So try to keep moving and stay off it.”
Chicago manager Will Venable said Benintendi was limited in what he could do.
“He was in a really tough spot,” Venable said. “He could hit for us and he just kind of puts us in a tough spot.”
Benintendi, who played with the Yankees at the end of the 2022 season, has two years remaining on a five-year, $75 million contract he signed in January 2023. The left-handed hitting Benintendi is batting .240 with 20 homers and 63 RBIs in 116 games this season.
Benintendi missed nearly three weeks in May with a left calf strain after missing a week in April due to a left adductor strain.
Benintendi reached 20 homers for the third time in his career and is batting .245 with 45 homers and 172 RBIs since joining the White Sox on the largest free agent contract in team history.
“The 20 homers is nice, but the average needs to get higher,” said Benintendi, a career .267 hitter.
Benintendi helped Boston win a World Series title in 2018. He won a Gold Glove with Kansas City in 2021 and was chosen to his first All-Star team in 2022, before being traded to the Yankees, where he batted .254 in 33 games before breaking his right wrist.
To replace Benintendi, Corey Julks had his contract selected from Triple-A Charlotte. Julks played four games with the White Sox last month, was designated for assignment Aug. 12 and outrighted to the minors two days later.
