Brooks Baldwin’s best attribute is versatility. The White Sox utilityman entered Wednesday having logged 86 innings in left field this season, 46 at second base, 43 in right field, 43 at shortstop and 10 in center field. After being called up by the Sox in 2024, he played second base and shortstop. He played in the outfield at UNC Wilmington.
Bouncing around allows Baldwin to stay in the lineup, but there are plays he doesn’t make that are routine for more seasoned fielders. That showed in the Sox’ 4-3 walk-off loss to the Royals on Tuesday.
In the fourth inning, Vinnie Pasquantino hit a leadoff single to left and got greedy, trying to stretch it into a double, but Baldwin tracked down the ball and threw to second for the out.
In the eighth inning, however, Baldwin didn’t read a fly ball well and couldn’t make the catch that would have ended the inning. Instead, a run scored to cut the Sox’ lead to 3-2.
One stellar play and one mistake. Adjusting back to the outfield was going to take time, particularly while he’s constantly changing positions. But he knows routine plays must be converted into outs.
“Just one of those plays,” Baldwin said Wednesday. “Haven’t had a lot of those hard-hit line drives at me yet. It’s one of those [plays] where I’ve got to get behind the ball there and keep it in front of me instead of trying to drift too much.”
Baldwin still has the trust of his teammates and coaching staff after how much they’ve thrown on his plate defensively.
“He looks better and better every day,” manager Will Venable said. “He looks more comfortable. We’re happy with his performance out there, and he’s still growing out there. There’s going to be plays you wish he would make that he’s going to learn in time, specifically that one [Tuesday]. But those are the types of plays you’ll see him making as he gets more comfortable.”
Baldwin has been pleased with his outfield defense. Entering Wednesday, he had a minus-1 outs above average — which measures range — in left field.
Reps are important, and with left fielder Andrew Benintendi sidelined with a strained left calf, Baldwin will get plenty.
Watching videos with coaches helps a lot.
“We look at my first step: How are my angles,” he said. “And then you can run back through those plays and see, ‘What was I thinking there?’ Video is a big key for guys playing new positions.”
Benintendi to the IL
The Sox put Benintendi on the 10-day injured list, retroactive to Monday, and called up infielder Nick Maton from Triple-A Charlotte. Benintendi injured his calf Sunday against the Astros.
“Not expecting it to be deep in the summer that we get him back, but we’ve got to give him a week or so and reevaluate,” Venable said.
Not this time
Andrew Vaughn’s 13-game on-base streak is over. After going 13-for-50 (.260) in those games, he went 0-for-4 against the Royals on Wednesday as the Sox’ designated hitter.