Benintendi has been informed that he is being dealt to Kansas City.
— Alex Speier (@alexspeier) February 11, 2021
A trade that would send outfielder Andrew Benintendi to the Kansas City Royals is not complete, but the Red Sox, Royals and Mets are working through details on a three-way deal that is expected to be finalized, sources tell ESPN.
— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) February 11, 2021
Benintendi dealt to Royals, pending approvals, medicals
— Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) February 11, 2021
This, this stinks. A virtual certainty the entire offseason, the trade of former World Series Champion Andrew Benintendi should surprise no one. But damn it, does it still hurt. A former Golden Spikes winner and Top Prospect, Benintendi lived up to everything we could have asked from a top prospect.
He came up in 2016, and in 105 at-bats, he only struck out 25 times while hitting .295, .359 OPB, and .476 slugging percentage. Numbers that he would replicate in 2017 and then again in 2018. 2018 will now be seen as his zenith in Boston and, in particular, his legendary catch in Game Five against the Houston Astros.
I will NEVER. NEVER. Forget the ALCS catch. Greatest playoff catch in Red Sox history. Andrew Benintendi is going to be a stud in KC 🙏🏼 pic.twitter.com/XYun4HCczJ
— Jose Bouquett (@josebouquett) February 11, 2021
Alex Bregman could not have hit that ball any sharper to Benintendi; that sicko decides to full-out dive for the ball, knowing that if he misses that, it is game over, and the Astros force a Game Six with a ton of momentum. Instead, he makes an A+ grab, sends the Red Sox to the World Series, and eventually cements the ‘18 team as one of the greatest in Boston history.
And yet, that feels like ages ago. A traumatic 2019 saw Benintendi’s numbers fall but not to the concerning levels they plummeted to in 2020.
2020 was a year from hell for the former Razorback. A terrible start that saw him go 4-39 with no home runs, and eventually, his season cratered when a dive back to second base broke Benintendi’s ribs and sidelined him for the rest of the wacky 2020 season.
And now we’re here, as I’m typing this, the return for the deal for the Red Sox has only been Franchy Cordero, whose swing could immediately play at Fenway Park. But, there will forever be a Benny Biceps size hole in my heart now.
Thanks for the Catch,
Thanks for the Flow Bros,
Thanks for the memories Benny, I cannot wait for him to knock the damn crown off the scoreboard this year.