Opening Day is 25 days away for the Chicago White Sox, and the starting outfield remains undecided.

Left fielder Andrew Benintendi is earmarked to be out at the beginning of the season. After being struck by a pitch in his first at-bat during Thursday’s game against the Angels, he is expected to miss four to six weeks with an undisplaced fracture on his right hand.

Although Benintendi is itching to return on the earlier side of his estimated recovery, even four weeks may be aspirational. Per MLB.com’s Scott Merkin, Benintendi disclosed, “James [Kruk], our [head athletic] trainer, knows how I am when it comes to this kind of stuff “I’ll try to push the bar, but we’ll be smart about it, too.”

Outfielder Michael A Taylor may also miss some of the Sox’s initial games.

Scratched from Saturday’s day game with elbow inflammation, Taylor is set to undergo more testing to evaluate his injury. Chicago Sun-Times reporter shared Will Venable’s update on Taylor Saturday on X.

“We’ll get some more information when he goes in this afternoon for imaging and we’ll continue to evaluate,” manager Will Venable said.
Taylor was signed to a one-year major league deal on Feb. 12. https://t.co/LkzXZXwOHI

— Daryl Van Schouwen (@CST_soxvan) March 1, 2025

Although Taylor’s injury is unknown, additional testing doesn’t bode well for a speedy recovery for the 33-year-old Gold Glover. While he has little to contribute offensively, his speed and stellar defense provide veteran insurance if Luis Robert Jr. lands on the IL or is traded.

Benintendi and Taylor’s injuries cut the Sox’s outfield depth significantly.

With both potentially missing Opening Day, general manager Chris Getz is left with Robert Jr., Mike Tauchman, and Austin Slater as the last three tenured outfielders. Getz could stick with Tauchman in left and Slater at right, or vice versa, but the Sox are still an injury – or trade – away from the outfield regressing from an already weak position.

Getz recently revealed that he’s open to adding players to the Sox roster, but it isn’t necessary now. He shared, “No one jumps out that makes sense for us, that’s not with the organization, but we have to remain open-minded as we work through spring training. We have players that have outs in their contracts with other organizations and roster decisions are going to be made for Opening Day, a guy might get squeezed off a roster.”

Depending on Taylor’s diagnosis, Getz should be prepared to sign an outfielder in the coming weeks. Miguel Vargas is all but officially named the starting third baseman, and banking on Dominic Fletcher, especially after his slow spring start and 2024 .206/.252/.256 slash line, is too risky.

Oscar Colás could be a dark horse breakout player this year after he slashed .273/.368/.273 in 13 games, but having high expectations for Opening Day would be a mistake.

The Sox need to be intentional and proactive with their roster moves. Though Chicago can’t sink any lower, injuries could devastate their chances of being taken seriously this year.