Yankees acquire outfielder Andrew Benintendi from the Royals
Kansas City Royals' Andrew Benintendi is congratulated after scoring against the Toronto Blue Jays during the first inning on June 8, 2022, in Kansas City. Credit: AP/Reed Hoffmann
The Yankees fell to 10-12 in the month of July after Wednesday’s walk-off loss to the Mets, but discussion afterward revolved little around that.
In the market for an outfielder before the Aug. 2 trade deadline, the Yankees on Wednesday swung a deal with the Royals for Andrew Benintendi, a player who has been on their radar much of the season.
The Yankees sent minor-league pitchers Chandler Champlain, T.J. Sikkema and Beck Way to the Royals who, coincidentally, start a four-game series against the Yankees at the Stadium Thursday night.
“He’s a really good player,” Aaron Judge said after Wednesday’s loss in which he went 0-for-5 with three strikeouts (all of those coming against Max Scherzer). “I had a chance to play against him for quite a few years when he was playing over in Boston (2016-20), and I’ve seen him do a lot of impressive things. If that's true, then he'll definitely be a big piece of what we got going on here.”
The 28-year-old, lefty-swinging Benintendi, an All-Star this season, is hitting .321 with a .389 on-base percentage in 92 games. In addition to his skills with the bat, Benintendi is a Gold Glove winner in left field, with his addition most assuredly meaning the end of the struggling Joey Gallo’s time in the Bronx (the Yankees have been looking to deal the outfielder, even before the Benintendi acquisition).
“It’s another great hitter … Benintendi’s a great hitter,” Aaron Boone said late Wednesday night, just before the deal became official. “Gets on base at a really high clip. Hits from the left side so, yeah, gives you some balance. So if we get him, that’s another really good big-league hitter to add to the mix that’s going to lengthen out a lineup and potentially give you that balance you look for. If we get him, I’ll be excited to write his name in.”
From the time he debuted with the Red Sox in 2016 at the age of 21, Benintendi looked comfortable hitting at Yankee Stadium. Benintendi is a career .261 hitter at the Stadium with seven homers and an impressive .823 OPS in 30 games there.
“Bat-to-ball skills, speed, always works a good at-bat,” Judge said. “And then if you're not too careful, man, he can leave the yard on you. I’ve seen it many times at Yankee Stadium. Just a well-rounded player, that's for sure.”
The Yankees talked last season about the “jolt” the acquisition of Anthony Rizzo provided last trade deadline, the jolt caused by his lefty bat, the way he vastly improved the team defensively and, most significant, his leadership skills (Judge and Rizzo are 1a and 1b when it comes to leaders in the Yankees clubhouse).
Benintendi won’t be counted on for the latter so much but he’s on par with Gallo as a defender and won’t strike out nearly as much.
“Anytime, especially during the dog days of summer,” Judge said of what kind of vigor news of the Benintendi deal might infuse the clubhouse with. “We’ve been grinding out for a while and then you add a piece like that, and especially a guy like that who has been hitting well over .300 all year, playing great defense and being kind of a spark plug over there in Kansas City. Any time you bring him into the type of culture we’ve got, it’s always a plus and kind of a boost of energy.”
The trade for Benintendi crossed one item off GM Brian Cashman’s to-do list before the trade deadline but there are two more significant ones to go. The Yankees remain in the market for a starting pitcher and, after Michael King went down with a season-ending elbow injury, acquiring at least one, and maybe two, additional bullpen arms is a priority.
Erik Boland started in Newsday's sports department in 2002. He covered high school and college sports, then shifted to the Jets beat. He has covered the Yankees since 2009.
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