Andrew Benintendi 'excited' to join first-place Yankees

Mike Matheny came to Andrew Benintendi’s hotel room in Manhattan at about 11 Wednesday night. The Royals’ manager had a news flash for him. 

The 28-year-old All-Star and free agent-to-be was no longer visiting New York to play against the Yankees. He was now going to be playing for the Yankees. Three minor-league pitchers had been sent in exchange to Kansas City.

So there was Benintendi Thursday night at Yankee Stadium in his new pinstriped clothes, starting in left and leading off, making his debut in the opener of a four-game series against his old team.

“It’s definitely a weird situation, but it is what it is,” said Benintendi, who’s still staying in the Royals' hotel. “In the end, you’ve got a job to do. … I’m excited obviously to be here.”

Benintendi went 0-for-4. But he did hear his name in the roll call and received a nice ovation before his first at-bat in the Yankees’ 1-0 win.

“I felt the love from everybody,” Benintendi said. “It was just a very cool experience.” 

The AL East-leading Yankees were expected to acquire an outfield bat, a starter and a reliever or two to bulk up before Tuesday’s trade deadline, and they began with the bat. It’s quite a good one. Benintendi is batting .316.

The lefty hitter came with a good glove, too. In fact, it’s golden. He earned a Gold Glove for his work in left last season. He hadn’t made an error in 164 chances this season.

The only cloud over him was a vaccination one. 

Benintendi, who was in his second season with Kansas City after five with Boston, didn’t fly to Toronto for a series this month. He’s unvaccinated against COVID-19 and Canada has a vaccine mandate. The Yankees have a three-game series in Toronto Sept. 28-30, and the Blue Jays could be a playoff opponent. 

So will he get the vaccine? He wouldn’t say yes. But he also wouldn’t say no. He did say that he hadn’t agreed to it as a condition of the trade.

“Right now, I’m still positioned in the same spot,” Benintendi said. “I’m open-minded about it. I’m not against it. But time will tell as we get closer.”

Aaron Boone is just happy to have him here.

“He’s a guy that’s kind of championship battle-tested, obviously played a key part in the Red Sox [title] run in ’18, was a key figure for them,” the manager said.

“He’s having an All-Star caliber season, a guy that gets on base, great bat-to-ball skills, good defender in leftfield. I’m really excited to add him to the mix. I think he makes us more versatile, gives us some more balance.

“I think he can hit in a lot of different places in our lineup. … I kind of look at him like a lefthanded DJ [LeMahieu].”

Benintendi batted .276 with 17 homers last season. He had three homers before this trade. But he changed his approach about midway through last season because of his home ballpark.

“Kauffman Stadium is a pretty big stadium,” Benintendi said. “For a guy like me, it’s tough to run one out of there. So I really just focused on hitting more line drives, getting on base, just taking what they give me.”

His new place of business comes with heavy pressure to produce. But Benintendi’s experience with the Red Sox should help him handle the heat.

“I think playing in Boston has prepared me for this atmosphere,” he said.

Bobby Witt Jr. will miss Benintendi. The heralded rookie infielder had the locker next to him in Kansas City. They talked baseball, and Benintendi gave him advice.

“He’s great person both on and off the field,” Witt said. “So I’m really anxious to see him continue his success.”