Benson started in left field and went 1-for-2 with a solo home run in Saturday's spring game against Cleveland.
While there will be competition for outfield spots this season, Benson appears to have an inside track. That's a marked difference from last spring when he had to play his way onto the roster. The lefty batter then went 1-for-20 with 12 strikeouts over his first eight games and was back in the minors by mid-April. He returned to the majors a month later, and Benson batted .292 with 11 homers, 31 RBI and a .915 OPS over his final 100 games. He told Mark Sheldon of MLB.com the end result from last season gave him more confidence entering 2024. Benson is part of the outfield mix that includes Jake Fraley, TJ Friedl and Spencer Steer.