When the dust finally settles on the Wednesday night trade that made Andrew Benintendi a Kansas City Royal, it will have involved three teams, seven players and at least three months worth of conversations and considerations between front offices.
In the final tally, the Royals will give up four players to grab Benintendi and slot him in as their everyday left fielder. Two of those players, minor leaguers, have yet to be determined. The Royals also received cash considerations from the Boston Red Sox, which will serve as a healthy subsidy for Benintendi’s salary this season.
“It was one of the more detailed analyses we’ve been through in a while, because there was just so many different players involved and just looking at all the options that are available,” Royals general manager Dayton Moore said after completing the deal.
Moore credited assistant general manager Scott Sharp, who spearheaded the Royals’ efforts. In Benintendi, 26, they added one of baseball’s top young left fielders in what’s clearly a win-now move.
They traded away two players who could’ve been part of their future for several years: outfielders Franchy Cordero and Khalil Lee.
The tremendously physically gifted Cordero still has two years of club control remaining after this season, while Lee was the club’s ninth-ranked prospect according to Baseball America.
“Anytime you’re trading young players that can potentially be a part of the future — even though they’re unproven — it’s not the easiest thing to do,” Moore said.
“Our market, our philosophy relies on young players and growing our own talent. We have to utilize some of that young talent that we’ve drafted, signed and developed to acquire talents like Andrew Benintendi. We’re not going to hesitate to do that whenever it makes sense.”
The talks that ultimately led to a deal originated as far back as November. The Royals headed into the offseason wanting to bolster their outfield options, ideally looking for a left-handed bat with strong on-base ability.
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TARGETING BENINTENDI
Their initial inquiries were exploratory, feeling out who the Red Sox would be open to discussion about trading. As discussions became more focused, Benintendi became the center as they worked through baseline concepts for a deal.
The Royals weren’t necessarily putting their eggs all in one basket. They did remain involved in talks with switch-hitting free agent infielder/outfielder Jurickson Profar until the late stages, before he signed a three-year deal reportedly worth $21 million with the San Diego Padres.
Had the Royals secured Profar, the financial investment could have precluded them aggressively pursuing Benintendi. But they stayed in contact with the Red Sox and discussions really picked up earlier this week.
Chaim Bloom, the Red Sox’s chief baseball officer, when talking to reporters on Wednesday night, stressed the upside of Cordero and building up their minor-league “pipeline.”
“Anytime you’re looking at something like this, I think a lot of it just comes down to where do you set the bar,” Bloom said. “At what point are you getting enough value, enough talent to make it worth making a move like this and parting ways with somebody who is really important and who has a lot of talent and who means a lot to the organization.”
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THE FINISH LINE
The Red Sox initiated the inclusion of the New York Mets as the third team in the discussions within the final three days of the deal’s completion. The Red Sox front office handled the negotiations with the Mets.
Including the Mets did not alter what the Royals would give up in the deal, but allowed the Red Sox to get right-handed pitcher Josh Winckowski from New York.
Both the Royals and Mets will send more players — two from the Royals and one from the Mets — to the Red Sox. Blooom said resolution on the deal likely wouldn’t come until after minor leaguers started playing. “Frameworks” are in place to determine the specific players but the players have not been set.
Even though Benintendi remained under club control through 2022, the calendar played a role pushing the deal over the finish line.
The Red Sox considered waiting until after the season to gauge whether improved performance might increase the package they could demand in exchange for Benintendi. But Bloom felt they were better off to pull the trigger sooner with spring training ready to start next week.
“As much as we believe in his ability to have a better season,” Bloom said of Benintendi on Wednesday night, “because of the way that teams value those years of control, that didn’t necessarily mean we would get a better return even if he was having a better season.”
The final Ts weren’t crossed until Wednesday afternoon, when the sides finalized the players involved in the deal. Then medicals had to get reviewed and cleared before players were notified.
Benintendi received a heads-up call from Bloom on Wednesday evening letting him know there was a good chance that he’d get traded that night.
Benintendi didn’t find out where he was likely headed until later, but a Cincinnati native was happy when he heard the Royals were his new team.
“I’m extremely excited. I’m from the Midwest,” Benintendi said. “I’m going to a Midwest team, so I’m excited. I’m ready to get there, ready to meet people, build those relationships and get going.”
