Henry Roldán
The New York Yankees took the lead in the 2022 MLB Trade Deadline after they acquired outfielder Andrew Benintendi on Wednesday.
As confirmed by the team itself through its social networks, the 27-year-old player comes to the organization, via trade, in exchange for three prospects that were sent to the Kansas City Royals.
Benintendi was one of the most sought-after bats on the market and several reports, including that of The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal, indicated that the Toronto Blue Jays, Los Angeles Dodgers and Milwaukee Brewers were also close to acquiring his services.
In his second season in a Royals uniform, the outfielder was the team’s only representative in the All-Star Game, ranking third in the American League in batting average with .320.
Many believe that this is the young player’s greatest season in the majors due to the fact that he has reduced his swing to make more contact and set aside his home run number, which is 3 in 2022.
Benintendi thus returns to the junior circuit’s East division, the same one he was in for five seasons when he debuted with the Boston Red Sox in 2016. With that organization, he finished second in Rookie of the Year voting in 2017 when he blasted 20 homers, 90 RBIs and had a batting average of .271.
Benintendi comes to the Bronx to help out in left field, the same position where he won his first Gold Glove last year and where the Yankees have had many shortcomings due to the poor production of Joey Gallo.
Other good news for the Yankees is that they start a four-game series against the Royals this Thursday, so Benintendi could immediately join the team. Additionally, Jon Heyman of The New York Post revealed that the outfielder finally got the COVID-19 vaccine to play in Canada after missing the Royals’ series against the Blue Jays because he was not vaccinated.
Yankees’ First Prospects to Be Released in the 2022 MLB Trade Deadline
Benintendi’s arrival would not come cheap for the New York Yankees, which is why the organization had to send three of its pitching prospects to the Royals.
Kansas City traded pitchers Beck Way and Chandler Champlain, as well as left-hander T.J. Sikkema, as bargaining pieces to let go of their outfielder.
Way, 22, was the Yankees’ No. 21 prospect according to MLB Pipeline, Champlain, also 22, was not in the top 30, while Sikkema, 24, was considered the No. 19 prospect within the New York organization. All of them at different Class A levels.
