Andrew Benintendi

The former Red Sox and Royals outfielder brings a decent amount to the Yankee offense.

The third pitcher in the trade, the 23-year-old has a very good breaking ball with a mid-90s fastball. He has good control and command but will have to develop a third pitch to stick at the major-league level. Benintendi brings a lot back: As a team, the Yankees rank 19th in baseball with a 76.3 percent contact rate. The Yankees rank second in baseball with a 21.6 percent strikeout rate. — Beck Way heads to Kansas City in the deal. Sikkema is 24 and in High-A, which should tell you about his future prospects at the major league level.

Here's what the New York Yankees lineup could look like with All-Star outfielder Andrew Benintendi following Wednesday's trade.

That said, maybe the Yankees believe Bentintendi’s pop will play up with the right-field short porch at Yankee Stadium. Donaldson, again, becomes the odd man out until he starts showing signs of life at the plate. 2. Aaron Judge, CF Not sure anybody expects Benintendi to continue his torrid first-half pace either, though he’ll be a significant upgrade over Joey Gallo. ... Could argue Carpenter higher than Hicks, but I’m not freaking out over the Nos. 6-7 spots. ... An argument could be made for putting Benintendi at No. 2, considering his .387 on-base percentage, but that would mean potentially less at-bats for Judge, who is also comfortable hitting in the No. 2 slot. Thoughts: Same argument applies here to possibly slotting Benintendi as the Yankees’ No. 2 hitter. 2. Aaron Judge, CF

In the midst of one of their worst skids of the season, the New York Yankees pulled off the first major move of the MLB trade deadline.

"We’re going to try and not let anything get in the way of that kind of focus.’’ “Losing games is never a good thing, but if you’re going to do it, now is the time to do it," Yankees infielder/outfielder Matt Carpenter said. It’s just part of the ebbs and flows of the season." “Any time you’re adding at the trade deadline it’s always a good thing, always a boost," Rizzo said. “Despite the road bump in the road here, we have a ton of confidence. “We know we're really good, and we know we're going to hit a snag in the season, and we're equipped for it," Boone said. “We got savages in the lineup, and really good hitters. “So I wouldn’t judge our season after a couple of weeks." The Yankees could use a boost. They have an 11½-game in the AL East. This may be their most talented team since winning the 2009 World Series. He’s been hitting over .300 all year, playing really good defense, and being kind of a sparkplug over there in Kansas City. If you’re not careful, he can leave the yard any time at Yankee Stadium. He has reached base in 31 of his last 33 games, and is batting .398 since June 27 with a .457 on-base percentage.

According to Jon Heyman of the New York Post, the Blue Jays were among the teams that were interested in Andrew Benintendi before he was dealt to New York.

That’s important of course, because the Blue Jays are one of the contenders in the American League, and Benintendi was among the Royals’ players that landed on the restricted list and didn’t make the trip to Toronto a few weeks ago. Yusei Kikuchi’s outing on Thursday will be an important one for the rotation picture, but they could use some depth whether it goes well for the erratic southpaw or not. Despite occasional frustration from the fan base, the offence hasn’t really been the problem this year, however, an upgrade like that would make a lot of sense, and I’ve written about it before.

The New York Yankees have been connected to Andrew Benintendi of the Kansas City Royals for several weeks ahead of the trade deadline...

The Yankees gave up another pitcher in TJ Sikkema. The 24-year-old currently features with Hudson Valley in High-A, posting a 2.48 ERA over 36.1 innings pitched. The Pennsylvania native was drafted in the 4th round of the 2020 MLB June Amateur Draft out of Northwest Florida State College. This season with High-A Hudson Valley, he hosts a 3.73 ERA over 72.1 innings. Chances are, Champlain won’t end up becoming anything special, and if he does, it’ll be 3–4 years down the line. Way is the most talented of the group at 22 years old. Benintendi is on a rental, one-year, $8.5 million deal for the 2022 season. His clutch factor has been negligent this year, but that is where Benintendi makes a significant impact.

We've got ourselves a deal as the MLB trade deadline nears next week on Aug. 2! The New York Yankees and Kansas City Royals swung a trade involving ex-Red ...

This is exactly the kind of trade the Yankees needed to make. Plus, there’s this news for when New York heads back up to Toronto in late September (or if they play in the postseason): It’s a fairly big deal for the Yankees for a couple of reasons, which we’ll get into below as we do our usual take on the deal: Who won and lost this one?

New York Yankees superstar Aaron Judge celebrated the arrival of outfielder Andrew Benintendi in a deal with the Kansas City Royals ahead of Tuesday's MLB.

"He's obviously a really good player having an All-Star season," Yankees manager Aaron Boone said. "Man, he's a really good player," Judge told reporters. If that's the case, Benintendi will probably hit fifth or sixth. His career slash line stands at .280/.352/.432 with 71 home runs and 65 stolen bases across 712 games. "He has a track record of success with the Red Sox in their championship run and put together a really good year with the Royals." "I've had a chance to play against him for quite a few years when he was playing over in Boston, and I've seen him do a lot of impressive things.

MLB outfielder Andrew Benintendi may have to receive the COVID-19 vaccination after being traded from the Kansas City Royals to the New York Yankees.

Obviously, he was a really good player for them, but he’s putting together a really good year for the Royals right now. If Benintendi doesn’t get the shot, he will be the only member of the team who stays behind when New York travels to Toronto in late September for a three-game series as the Yankees’ entire active roster was cleared for Canadian travel earlier this season. Still on his rookie contract, the 28-year-old lost $186,813 of the $8.5 million salary he won in an arbitration case against the Royals for missing the four-game series.

Andrew Benintendi is now a member of the New York Yankees. Here's how to get his jersey.

“My boys and I have had the cards for over 30 years, and we’ve enjoyed it. “Whether you’re from the New York area or not, or a Yankees fan, it was always Mickey Mantle that was highlighted.” The switch-hitting Mantle — “the Mick” — was a Triple Crown winner in 1956, a three-time American League MVP and a seven-time World Series champion. “Four sharp corners, the gloss and the color jumps off the card.” The record is $6.6 million for a 1909 Honus Wagner card that was sold at auction a year ago, months after another 70-year-old Mantle card fetched $5.2 million. ... He had that aura about him,” card owner Anthony Giordano said of Mantle, who spent his entire career with the New York Yankees from 1951 to 1968. The Hall of Famer, who died in 1995, was considered a humble player on the field. Giordano, 75, said it was time to give the Mantle card a new home. Fans who want to purchase an Andrew Benintendi Yankees jersey can visit this Fanatics link. Grady said that the collectibles market is having a renaissance, noting that cards that are “the creme de la creme, the best of the best, are still selling despite the economy right now” and that Mantle, “the king” of baseball cards, “has always done well.” “The quality of the card is the key,” said Derek Grady, the executive vice president of sports auctions for Heritage Auctions, which is running the bidding. No matter the final price for the rare Mantle rookie card, it will be a hefty profit for the current owner, a New Jersey waste management entrepreneur who bought it for $50,000 at a New York City show in 1991.

If you took advantage of your MLB.TV subscription yesterday, you probably caught a handful of exciting games around baseball.

- Julio Rodríguez keeps on mashing, and the Mariners keep on winning. Jacob deGrom made what might be his final rehab start for the Mets’ Triple-A affiliate in Syracuse on Wednesday, and it wasn’t pretty. But the most exciting games were the trio of walk-off wins, and none was as exciting or meaningful as the one in Queens on Wednesday evening. The Yankees are sending Beck Way, Chandler Champlain, and TJ Sikkema to Kansas City in exchange for Benintendi, a quantity over quality return for the rental outfielder at first glance. New York was a team that had been rumored to be a potential landing spot for Juan Soto, and while that may still happen (they didn’t give up much for Benintendi), it now seems more likely that he ends up elsewhere. Wednesday featured three walk-off victories, a game-tying home run in the bottom of the ninth for the Orioles, and a go-ahead home run in the ninth for the Guardians, as there was no shortage of drama around baseball yesterday.

Andrew Benintendi's bat — not an undisclosed agreement to get the shot — is why he's in pinstripes.

The Nets and Kyrie Irving came close, but if that crunchy lunatic can avoid his comeuppance, I’m pretty sure an anti-vaxxer isn’t going to seriously alter the outcome of a championship. The real punishment for Benintendi’s bullshit would’ve been another few years laboring in the Missouri heat for a shitty team because no franchise was willing to suffer the headache for his .320/.387/.398 slash line. The team was nearly 40 games above .500 (61-23) less than three weeks ago and under little pressure to do much more than bolster the rotation and get Joey Gallo as far away from the lineup as possible. Wednesday’s dramatics were more of the same this month for a team that was on a 119-win pace before July happened. Other verifieds are alleging that the left fielder is willing to get the routine shot — available to all ages and extremely helpful against COVID — for a winning team. the Yanks lost six of their past 10, including two two-game sweeps at the hands of the hated Astros and Mets, with each series featuring a walk-off loss.

The New York Yankees acquired Andrew Benintendi from the Kansas City Royals on Wednesday.

The All-Star outfielder and nine other members of the Kansas City Royals recently sat out of a series against the Toronto Blue Jays. In April, before a trip to Toronto, the Yankees managed to get the entire roster vaccinated to meet the Canadian requirements for entering the country. Please consider supporting us with a subscription. Andrew Benintendi may change his vaccination status for the New York Yankees.

A trade to the Yankees hasn't immediately changed Andrew Benintendi's vaccine stance, but the outfielder said he is staying “open-minded.”

“It’s definitely a weird situation, but it is what it is,” Benintendi said. That his first four games in pinstripes would come against the team he just suited up with on Wednesday added to the whirlwind of it all. “I think I’m more valuable as a guy who can get on base at a higher clip and hit for a little higher average and maybe sacrifice a little bit of power,” Benintendi said. The 5-foot-9 Benintendi said he has learned not to try to change his approach to hit for more power. But time will tell, as we get closer, but for now, I’m just focused on getting here, getting comfortable, getting to know the guys and winning baseball games.” Their roster has been fully vaccinated for two trips there this season, but it remains to be seen whether Benintendi will be available to join them for the next one.

Appropriately, Brian Cashman provided it mere seconds after the game ended, when beloved YES Network insider Jack Curry tweeted four words that should ignite a ...

Locking in Benny feels very reminiscent of the last time the Yanks really plowed onward into the second half and October back in 2009, when many of a special team’s special moments were authored by a former Red Sox outfielder wearing No. 18 in pinstripes. Ultimately, the Yankees surrendered three top-30 prospects, per Baseball America, none of them ranked higher than 13th. Curry went on to pivot the YES postgame show significantly in the Andrew Benintendi deal’s aftermath, rattling plenty of fans’ cages by making it clear he believes the team is just getting started, and that the “postseason No. 2 starter” isn’t currently on the roster.

The New York Yankees acquired All-Star outfielder Andrew Benintendi from the Kansas City Royals on Wednesday in exchange for a trio of minor-league pitchers ...

The Yanks are notably interested in a reunion with ex-Bronx Bomber and current Chicago Cub David Robertson, per Ken Davidoff of the New York Post. In sum, adding Benintendi helps the Yankees' World Series cause, but they still need more help to overcome their pesky rivals in the Houston Astros, who have won the AL pennant three times since 2017. It's certainly possible one (or a few) of those arms becomes an asset in the fall, but right now, it's unclear. Luis Severino (3.45 ERA) is on the IL with a low-grade lat strain, and it's unclear when he will return right now. He's hitting .320 with three home runs, 39 RBI and a .785 OPS. His batting average is now the best on the Yanks. However, the move certainly does not vault the Yankees into favorite status, and the team has plenty of questions that need to be addressed.

New Yankees outfielder Andrew Benintendi addressed his vaccination status with the media on Thursday for the first time since being traded from Kansas City ...

Benintendi has cut down on his strikeouts, and has traded power hitting prowess in favor of contact, and it is paying off in his favor. Benintendi’s vaccination status became known when he was unable to play in Kansas City’s series in Toronto earlier this month. “I’m still positioned in the same spot.

NEW YORK -- Andrew Benintendi passed through the cabin entry door of a chartered jet on Wednesday evening believing it would be his final time traveling ...

From April 4-30 2022,the most recent data available by the CDC, unvaccinated people aged 5 years and older had 1.9 times the risk of testing positive for COVID-19 and six times the risk of dying from the virus compared to people vaccinated with at least a primary series of the vaccine. ,"type":"markdown","__typename":"Markdown"},"$ROOT_QUERY.getForgeContentBySlug({\"locale\":\"en-us\",\"slug\":\"andrew-benintendi-introduced-by-yankees\",\"type\":\"story\"}).parts.4":{"contentDate":"2022-07-28T20:55:22.955Z","description":"The Off Base crew discusses what sort of impact all-star outfielder Andrew Benintendi will have for the New York Yankees","duration":"00:02:38","slug":"benintendi-traded-to-yankees","source":null,"tags":[{"type":"id","generated":true,"id":"$ROOT_QUERY.getForgeContentBySlug({\"locale\":\"en-us\",\"slug\":\"andrew-benintendi-introduced-by-yankees\",\"type\":\"story\"}).parts.4.tags.0","typename":"Tag"},{"type":"id","generated":true,"id":"$ROOT_QUERY.getForgeContentBySlug({\"locale\":\"en-us\",\"slug\":\"andrew-benintendi-introduced-by-yankees\",\"type\":\"story\"}).parts.4.tags.1","typename":"Tag"},{"type":"id","generated":true,"id":"$ROOT_QUERY.getForgeContentBySlug({\"locale\":\"en-us\",\"slug\":\"andrew-benintendi-introduced-by-yankees\",\"type\":\"story\"}).parts.4.tags.2","typename":"Tag"},{"type":"id","generated":true,"id":"$ROOT_QUERY.getForgeContentBySlug({\"locale\":\"en-us\",\"slug\":\"andrew-benintendi-introduced-by-yankees\",\"type\":\"story\"}).parts.4.tags.3","typename":"Tag"},{"type":"id","generated":true,"id":"$ROOT_QUERY.getForgeContentBySlug({\"locale\":\"en-us\",\"slug\":\"andrew-benintendi-introduced-by-yankees\",\"type\":\"story\"}).parts.4.tags.4","typename":"Tag"}],"templateUrl":"https://img.mlbstatic.com/mlb-images/image/private/{formatInstructions}/mlb/vuzdbqm6qdjhg8hnjxvh","title":"Benintendi traded to Yankees","type":"video","url":"/video/benintendi-traded-to-yankees","__typename":"Video"},"$ROOT_QUERY.getForgeContentBySlug({\"locale\":\"en-us\",\"slug\":\"andrew-benintendi-introduced-by-yankees\",\"type\":\"story\"}).parts.4.tags.0":{"slug":"teamid-147","title":"New York Yankees","__typename":"Tag"},"$ROOT_QUERY.getForgeContentBySlug({\"locale\":\"en-us\",\"slug\":\"andrew-benintendi-introduced-by-yankees\",\"type\":\"story\"}).parts.4.tags.1":{"slug":"playerid-643217","title":"Andrew Benintendi","__typename":"Tag"},"$ROOT_QUERY.getForgeContentBySlug({\"locale\":\"en-us\",\"slug\":\"andrew-benintendi-introduced-by-yankees\",\"type\":\"story\"}).parts.4.tags.2":{"slug":"mlbn-off-base","title":"MLBN Off Base","__typename":"Tag"},"$ROOT_QUERY.getForgeContentBySlug({\"locale\":\"en-us\",\"slug\":\"andrew-benintendi-introduced-by-yankees\",\"type\":\"story\"}).parts.4.tags.3":{"slug":"mlb-network","title":"MLB Network","__typename":"Tag"},"$ROOT_QUERY.getForgeContentBySlug({\"locale\":\"en-us\",\"slug\":\"andrew-benintendi-introduced-by-yankees\",\"type\":\"story\"}).parts.4.tags.4":{"slug":"trades","title":"trades","__typename":"Tag"},"$ROOT_QUERY.getForgeContentBySlug({\"locale\":\"en-us\",\"slug\":\"andrew-benintendi-introduced-by-yankees\",\"type\":\"story\"}).parts.5":{"content":"“It’s definitely a weird situation, lacing it up with them yesterday and going against them today,” Benintendi said. \n\n","providerName":"Twitter","providerUrl":"https://twitter.com","type":"rich","width":550,"__typename":"ExternalEmbedContent"},"$ROOT_QUERY.getForgeContentBySlug({\"locale\":\"en-us\",\"slug\":\"andrew-benintendi-introduced-by-yankees\",\"type\":\"story\"}).parts.8":{"data":{"type":"id","generated":true,"id":"$ROOT_QUERY.getForgeContentBySlug({\"locale\":\"en-us\",\"slug\":\"andrew-benintendi-introduced-by-yankees\",\"type\":\"story\"}).parts.8.data","typename":"ExternalEmbedContent"},"type":"oembed","__typename":"ExternalEmbed"},"$ROOT_QUERY.getForgeContentBySlug({\"locale\":\"en-us\",\"slug\":\"andrew-benintendi-introduced-by-yankees\",\"type\":\"story\"}).parts.9":{"content":"Benintendi was in the headlines recently for non-baseball reasons, as he was among a group of Royals unable to travel to Toronto because he had not been vaccinated against COVID-19. The Yankees have one regular-season series remaining in Toronto (Sept. 26-28).\n\n“Right now, I’m still positioned in the same spot,” Benintendi said. So when I found out last night, I got to hang out in the room with a couple of guys and say, ‘See you tomorrow.’ It’s exciting and I’m looking forward to these four games.” ,"type":"markdown","__typename":"Markdown"},"$ROOT_QUERY.getForgeContentBySlug({\"locale\":\"en-us\",\"slug\":\"andrew-benintendi-introduced-by-yankees\",\"type\":\"story\"}).parts.6":{"contentDate":"2022-07-28T04:44:57.127Z","description":"Aaron Boone talks about the player Andrew Benintendi is and what he's done with the Royals; Aaron Judge discusses what Benintendi will bring","duration":"00:01:14","slug":"boone-judge-on-benintendi-trade","source":null,"tags":[{"type":"id","generated":true,"id":"$ROOT_QUERY.getForgeContentBySlug({\"locale\":\"en-us\",\"slug\":\"andrew-benintendi-introduced-by-yankees\",\"type\":\"story\"}).parts.6.tags.0","typename":"Tag"},{"type":"id","generated":true,"id":"$ROOT_QUERY.getForgeContentBySlug({\"locale\":\"en-us\",\"slug\":\"andrew-benintendi-introduced-by-yankees\",\"type\":\"story\"}).parts.6.tags.1","typename":"Tag"},{"type":"id","generated":true,"id":"$ROOT_QUERY.getForgeContentBySlug({\"locale\":\"en-us\",\"slug\":\"andrew-benintendi-introduced-by-yankees\",\"type\":\"story\"}).parts.6.tags.2","typename":"Tag"},{"type":"id","generated":true,"id":"$ROOT_QUERY.getForgeContentBySlug({\"locale\":\"en-us\",\"slug\":\"andrew-benintendi-introduced-by-yankees\",\"type\":\"story\"}).parts.6.tags.3","typename":"Tag"},{"type":"id","generated":true,"id":"$ROOT_QUERY.getForgeContentBySlug({\"locale\":\"en-us\",\"slug\":\"andrew-benintendi-introduced-by-yankees\",\"type\":\"story\"}).parts.6.tags.4","typename":"Tag"},{"type":"id","generated":true,"id":"$ROOT_QUERY.getForgeContentBySlug({\"locale\":\"en-us\",\"slug\":\"andrew-benintendi-introduced-by-yankees\",\"type\":\"story\"}).parts.6.tags.5","typename":"Tag"},{"type":"id","generated":true,"id":"$ROOT_QUERY.getForgeContentBySlug({\"locale\":\"en-us\",\"slug\":\"andrew-benintendi-introduced-by-yankees\",\"type\":\"story\"}).parts.6.tags.6","typename":"Tag"}],"templateUrl":"https://img.mlbstatic.com/mlb-images/image/private/{formatInstructions}/mlb/koqbpiw2sorzjg5tzaoe","title":"Boone, Judge on Benintendi trade","type":"video","url":"/video/boone-judge-on-benintendi-trade","__typename":"Video"},"$ROOT_QUERY.getForgeContentBySlug({\"locale\":\"en-us\",\"slug\":\"andrew-benintendi-introduced-by-yankees\",\"type\":\"story\"}).parts.6.tags.0":{"slug":"teamid-147","title":"New York Yankees","__typename":"Tag"},"$ROOT_QUERY.getForgeContentBySlug({\"locale\":\"en-us\",\"slug\":\"andrew-benintendi-introduced-by-yankees\",\"type\":\"story\"}).parts.6.tags.1":{"slug":"playerid-592450","title":"Aaron Judge","__typename":"Tag"},"$ROOT_QUERY.getForgeContentBySlug({\"locale\":\"en-us\",\"slug\":\"andrew-benintendi-introduced-by-yankees\",\"type\":\"story\"}).parts.6.tags.2":{"slug":"trades","title":"trades","__typename":"Tag"},"$ROOT_QUERY.getForgeContentBySlug({\"locale\":\"en-us\",\"slug\":\"andrew-benintendi-introduced-by-yankees\",\"type\":\"story\"}).parts.6.tags.3":{"slug":"transactions","title":"transactions","__typename":"Tag"},"$ROOT_QUERY.getForgeContentBySlug({\"locale\":\"en-us\",\"slug\":\"andrew-benintendi-introduced-by-yankees\",\"type\":\"story\"}).parts.6.tags.4":{"slug":"interview","title":"interview","__typename":"Tag"},"$ROOT_QUERY.getForgeContentBySlug({\"locale\":\"en-us\",\"slug\":\"andrew-benintendi-introduced-by-yankees\",\"type\":\"story\"}).parts.6.tags.5":{"slug":"send-to-news-mlb-feed","title":"Send To News MLB feed","__typename":"Tag"},"$ROOT_QUERY.getForgeContentBySlug({\"locale\":\"en-us\",\"slug\":\"andrew-benintendi-introduced-by-yankees\",\"type\":\"story\"}).parts.6.tags.6":{"slug":"apple-news","title":"Apple News","__typename":"Tag"},"$ROOT_QUERY.getForgeContentBySlug({\"locale\":\"en-us\",\"slug\":\"andrew-benintendi-introduced-by-yankees\",\"type\":\"story\"}).parts.7":{"content":"An American League All-Star, Benintendi batted .320/.387/.398 with 40 runs, 14 doubles, two triples, three homers and 39 RBIs in 93 games for Kansas City.\n\nHis 34 multi-hit games ranked second in the Majors and first in the American League entering play on Thursday; Benintendi was also riding an eight-game hitting streak at the time of the trade, having reached base in 31 of 33 games with an at-bat since June 14.\n\n“It’s a guy that’s championship battle-tested, played a key part in the Red Sox run in ’18,” Boone said. “It’s a guy that’s championship battle-tested, played a key part in the Red Sox run in ’18,” Boone said. Boone said that Judge will continue to see some reps in center field, where he has started 51 games. Time will tell as we get closer, but for now I’m just focused on getting comfortable, getting to know the guys and winning baseball games.” Shortly after checking into the Royals’ Midtown Manhattan hotel, Benintendi learned that he had been traded to the Yankees for three pitching prospects; his next game would come against the team he’d just traveled to New York with. The club won’t return home until after Tuesday's Trade Deadline, by which time he expected to be in a different uniform. But such is the business of baseball." Time will tell as we get closer, but for now I’m just focused on getting comfortable, getting to know the guys and winning baseball games.”","type":"markdown","__typename":"Markdown"},"$ROOT_QUERY.getForgeContentBySlug({\"locale\":\"en-us\",\"slug\":\"andrew-benintendi-introduced-by-yankees\",\"type\":\"story\"}).parts.10":{"content":"_The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) states that vaccines are safe, effective and have greatly reduced or eliminated many infectious diseases that once routinely killed or harmed children and adults._\n\n_The CDC recommends the COVID-19 vaccine for everyone ages 6 months and older to reduce the severity of COVID-19 cases that have led to hospitalizations and deaths over the past two years.

With Giancarlo Stanton injured, Benintendi, a high-contact hitter, will fill an immediate gap. His vaccination status could be an issue down the road.

He was sent to the Royals in a February 2021 trade. He recorded a 3.73 E.R.A. in 15 starts with Hudson Valley before the trade. Sikkema, a 2019 first-round pick, was the Yankees’ No. 19 prospect, according to MLB.com. He owned a 2.48 E.R.A. over 11 games (10 starts) with High-A Hudson Valley this season. Despite being one of the more sought-after outfielders on the market, Benintendi, who is eligible for free agency this off-season, did not cost the Yankees any premium prospects. Benintendi, should he agree to get the vaccine, has plenty of time to do so before it is an issue. The available options would likely include Cincinnati’s Luis Castillo and Oakland’s Frankie Montas, both of whom are pitching well for last-place clubs. Gets on base at a really high clip, hits from the left side, so yeah, gives you some balance,” Yankees Manager Aaron Boone told reporters just before the Yankees announced the trade. “I’ve seen him do a lot of impressive things.” Benintendi, 28, was an All-Star for the Royals this season. His .399 slugging percentage would be his worst mark in a full season. “That’s another really good big league hitter to add to the mix that’s going to lengthen out our lineup and potentially give you that balance you look for.” But there is also a wide gap in power: Benintendi, who has hit as many as 20 home runs in a season in the past, has adjusted his approach to emphasize contact.

Sikkema, and Chandler Champlain to Kansas City. Coincidentally, Benintendi will make his New York debut on Thursday night against his old team, as he's batting ...

Benintendi's vaccination status could prove to be pivotal for the Yankees, who will head to Toronto for a three-game set against the Blue Jays in September. Given New York's lead in the American League East, the more dire scenario would see the Yankees meet the Blue Jays as part of the postseason. It's to be seen if things will come to that, but at one point the rumor mill even had the Yankees back off Benintendi as a result of the aforementioned possibility. Benintendi, a 28-year-old impending free agent, is in the midst of a quality season. Benintendi also refuted rumors that surfaced after the trade indicating he had agreed to become inoculated as a condition of the trade. (Several other governments, including the United States, require the same.) I'm not against it.

A day after getting traded to the New York Yankees, Andrew Benintendi played it coy about whether or not he'll get the COVID vaccine.

He took a car to Yankee Stadium on Thursday afternoon, turned right instead of left inside the corridor, walked into the Yankees clubhouse, and joined an iconic franchise that has the best record in baseball. It allows the Yankees to play Aaron Judge more often now in right field instead of center field. And it shoves Joey Gallo to the bench, and likely completely out of the door, with Aaron Hicks playing center and Giancarlo Stanton as the primary DH. Yankees manager Aaron Boone said that he has yet to broach the subject with Benintendi, but if he does, you can be sure he won’t publicly tell everyone. Yet, when asked Thursday when he was told he had been traded, he said that manager Mike Matheny informed him after their arrival to New York. “I’m really excited to have him,’’ Boone said. Really, Benintendi already has proven to be a team player to Yankees management. “If what was standing between me and the playoffs was this vaccine, I would consider getting it. Whitfield was critical of the vaccine saying, “What’s it’s supposed to do, it’s not doing. He apologized, but the damage was done. “I poorly articulated the point I was trying to say,” Merrifield told Kansas City reporters. “I’m still positioned in the same spot,’’ said Benintendi, the All-Star outfielder who was traded from the Kansas City Royals on Wednesday for three minor-league pitchers.

New York Yankees outfielder Andrew Benintendi is still unvaccinated after a trade from the Kansas City Royals, but he's open to receiving the COVID-19 ...

Like I said, I'm open-minded about it.” Benintendi was one of 10 Kansas City players who were unable to cross the border for a recent road trip, making the 28-year-old’s vaccination plans a topic of interest when he introduced himself to the New York media on Thursday. “I'm open-minded about it.