Just moments after the New York Yankees lost via a walk-off to the New York Mets Wednesday night, it was announced that they are trading with the Kansas City Royals for All-Star outfielder Andrew Benintendi. According to MLB Insider Jeff Passan, the deal is being finalized to send Benintendi to New York.
In return, the Royals will receiver three minor league players.
Benintendi had been rumored to be on the move for quite some time now. He's having a fantastic season. The former Royals outfielder is hitting .320 with a .387 on-base percentage after going 1-for-4 in Wednesday night's shutout loss to the Los Angeles Angels. He has only driven in 39 runs and scored 40 of them. But that has a lot more to do with the lack of talent around him in Kansas City.
Benintendi has shown throughout his career that he is a good hitter. He was a highly touted prospect in the Red Sox farm system and had a couple solid seasons with them in the bigs.
The Yankees were already in the mix for Benintendi's services. But when New York surprisingly placed Giancarlo Stanton on the 10-day injured list with left Achilles tendinitis, it became a necessity. Part of that is due to the inability for Joey Gallo to hit the baseball. But also, Aaron Hicks has not exhibited the power or consistency he had previously.
Andrew Benintendi will fit right in with the Yankees and should have a meaningful impact for New York. It comes at just the right time as well. The Yankees have struggled since the All-Star break, dropping five of their first seven games.