Yankees Acquire All-Star Andrew Benintendi in Trade With Royals

The 28-year-old former Red Sox star, who is not vaccinated against COVID-19, is having a career-best year at the plate.

With less than a week to go until the MLB trade deadline, the Yankees acquired All-Star outfielder Andrew Benintendi in a deal with the Royals on Wednesday night in a move first reported by Jack Curry of YES Network.

Kansas City will receive minor league players Chandler Champlain, Beck Way and T.J. Sikkema in return, per Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic.

New York confirmed Benintendi’s acquisition shortly after news of the deal broke.

Benny to the BX. @asben16 👊 pic.twitter.com/k22lvnPX35

— New York Yankees (@Yankees) July 28, 2022

Benintendi, 28, is having the best offensive season of his career. He’s hitting .321/.389/.399 through 92 games, earning his first All-Star nod. The former Gold Glove Award winner would seemingly be in line for an everyday role in left field, where Joey Gallo and Aaron Hicks have split time for most of the season.

“Benintendi’s a great hitter,” said Yankees manager Aaron Boone, per Sports Illustrated’s Matt Martell. “Gets on base at a really high clip. Hits from the left side. So, yeah, gives you some balance. If we get him, that’s another really good big league hitter to add to the mix that’s gonna lengthen out our lineup and potentially give you that balance you look for. If we get him, I’ll be excited to write his name in the lineup.”

Benintendi was among the 10 Royals who did not fly with the team during Kansas City’s recent trip to Toronto because he had not gotten vaccinated against COVID-19. The Yankees have one more road series against the Blue Jays this season at the end of September, and could face off against them in the postseason. He has reportedly told his new team that he plans on getting the vaccination, per Jon Heyman of the New York Post.

Benintendi is set to become a free agent after this season.

Sikkema and Way are ranked as the Yankees’ 19th- and 21st-best prospects, respectively, by MLB Pipeline. Champlain is a right-handed pitcher who was drafted by the Yankees in the ninth round in 2021.