9:52 p.m.: In return, Kansas City gets shortstops TJ Sikkema, Chandler Champlain and Beck Way, reports Joel Sherman of the New York Post ( Twitter link ). 9:45 p.m.: The Royals will get three minor leaguers in exchange, reports ESPN’s Jeff Passan ( on Twitter ). 9:38 p.m.: The Yankees are set to acquire outfielder Andrew Benintendi from the Royals, reports YES Network’s Jack Curry ( Twitter link ). New York has been pursuing an upgrade in the outfield in recent weeks and will fill the void by landing one of the top rental bats on the market. Benintendi has been one of the game’s most obvious trade candidates in recent months. The Royals entered 2022 with plans to contend, but stumbled to 16-32 through the end of May. That made Kansas City an obvious potential deadline seller and an impending free agent like Benidenti a strong candidate to switch uniforms. New York adds a contact-oriented bat to their outfield mix. Benintendi is hitting .321/.389/.399 on the year, walking at a strong 10.1% clip while striking out in just 13.5% of his trips to the plate. He’s connected on just three home runs, but Benintendi leads the majors with 91 singles and has 14 doubles. He hasn’t looked like the 15-20 bat he was during his first few seasons with the Red Sox, but he has made contact on a robust 82.6% of his swings. Benintendi’s production has been boosted by his career-high .368 average on balls in play. As a hitter who uses the entire field, he typically produces consistent results on batted balls, though it’s unlikely the Yankees expect that to stay very high in 2022. Even if his BABIP slips closer to his .325 career mark, his bat discipline and control should support a solid on-base percentage. Those plus bat-to-ball skills contrast Benidenti with the player he is likely to displace from the lineup, Joey Gallo. New York’s biggest pick-up last summer, Gallo has struggled since landing in the Bronx. He’s a .160/.293/.371 hitter in 498 plate appearances as a Yankee, at a whopping 38.4% clip in that stretch. Among hitters with 200+ plate appearances this season, Gallo has the third-highest strikeout rate (38.1%) and third-lowest swing rate (62.2%). The Yankees are now set to start an outfield featuring Benintendi, MVP candidate Aaron Judge and Aaron Hicks — owner of a massive .333/.471/.593 line this month after a slow start to the season — most days. Giancarlo Stanton is the primary designated hitter, although he was placed on the injured list yesterday. New York has already begun to reduce Gallo’s playing time while working with the red-hot Matt Carpenter in the corner outfield mix, and tonight’s acquisition is the firmest sign yet the Yankees are ready to cut Gallo out of the mix entirely. It stands to reason they’ll try to find someone to pick him up in a trade before next Tuesday’s deadline. More to come.
