Kansas City Royals acquire Andrew Benintendi from Boston in three-team trade
The Kansas City Royals found a successor to Alex Gordon in left field Wednesday night, executing a three-team trade to acquire Andrew Benintendi.
Benintendi, 26, comes to Kansas City after having been viewed as a potential cornerstone for the Boston Red Sox. The Royals gave up outfielder Franchy Cordero, prospect Khalil Lee — the Royals’ third-round draft pick in 2016 — and two players to be named.
Cordero and the two players to be named go to the Red Sox, and Lee goes to the New York Mets, who also acquired minor league right-handed pitcher Josh Winckowski and either a player to be named later or cash from Boston.
The Royals also received $2.8 million from the Red Sox. Benintendi will make $6.6 million this season.
“It was one of the more detailed analyses we’ve been through in a while because of there was just so many different players involved and just looking at all the options that are available,” Royals general manager Dayton Moore said.
“Of course, we traded two really good players in Franchy Cordero and Khalil Lee. Two guys we like a great deal, with upside. Andrew Benintendi is a proven talent at this point in time in his career. He’s been a part of playoffs, and he’s a proven winner.”
The Royals acquired Cordero last summer from the San Diego Padres, and he was slated to get the first chance to win the starting left fielder job in spring training.
Baseball America recently ranked Lee the ninth-best prospect in the Royals’ farm system. The Royals added Lee to their 40-man roster this winter.
Benintendi missed all but 14 games in the pandemic-shortened 2020 season because of a strained rib cage.
But the Royals are almost assuredly viewing last season as an aberration for Benintendi, who struggled offensively and went 4 for 39 with a .103/.314/.218 slash line in those 14 games.
The 5-foot-9, 180-pound, athletic left-handed hitter fits the profile of the type of player Moore said he’d been hoping to add to the roster this offseason.
“He does a lot of things well on the field,” Moore said. “He’s highly skilled. He’s very well-rounded. He steals bases. He runs the bases well. He’s a consistent performer offensively. His on-base skills are very good. His selection is very good at the plate.”
A former national college player of the year and first-round draft pick (seventh overall in 2015), Benintendi made his MLB debut in 2016 with the Boston Red Sox and played in 34 games that season.
“The first time I was really introduced to Kansas City fans was when I was attending Arkansas in ‘14 and ‘15,” Benintendi said. “Obviously, that was in the peak of those runs. I was familiar then. Kansas City was honestly one of my favorite cities to visit with the barbecue there down in the Plaza. I’m excited.”
Baseball America ranked him the top prospect in professional baseball heading into 2017. He became the Red Sox’s starting left fielder in 2017 and hit 20 home runs in his first full season.
He started in left field for the 2018 World Series championship team in an outfield that included Mookie Betts and Jackie Bradley Jr. Benintendi slashed .290/.366/.465 with 16 home runs, 87 RBIs and 21 stolen bases.
In 485 career games, Benintendi has posted a .273/.353/.435 slash line. In his three full seasons as a starter (2017-19), he averaged 16 homers, 82 RBIs and 17 stolen bases per season.
During that three-year span, Benintendi ranked behind only Gordon for the most defensive runs saved among left fielders (18 to Gordon’s 25).
“Obviously, it’s a lot different than Fenway,” Benintendi said of Kauffman Stadium. “Left field, you have a lot more room to run out there — which I’m excited about. I always love playing there. Something about it, I feel like I always see the ball well. It’s a big field. I feel like I’m a gap-to-gap kind of hitter. Obviously, those gaps there are pretty big. Let’s see if we can run a little bit.”
Gordon retired this offseason after 14 seasons — all with the Royals — and won his franchise-record tying eighth Gold Glove as well as his second Platinum Glove award.
Benintendi has one arbitration-eligible season remaining after this year. He can become an unrestricted free agent in 2023.
This story was originally published February 10, 2021 at 9:32 PM.
