That the Yankees need another outfielder is not something I thought was going to be the case. It is.
Why Benintendi?
What's one thing that the Yankees need to do? Get an outfielder. 100%.
Is Aaron Hicks hitting better this week? Yes. But, he's still a liability.
Is Joey Gallo hitting better this week? Yes. But, he's also a liability.
Look at these stats:
.230/.352/.276 (.628 OPS/87 OPS+) with a +0.1 bWAR
.190/.287/.367 (.655 OPS/89 OPS+) with a +0.5 bWAR
Combined, those two players have combined for the same WAR as Isiah-Kiner Falefa. To say he's been underwhelming is pretty clear. Of the options I wanted for shortstop going into the season, IKF is a little behind. J.P. Crawford with the Seattle Mariners has 2.6 bWAR, though Amed Rosario has a 0.5 bWAR. Regardless, IKF has been a fine player for the Yankees so far and his defense is a nice upgrade.
Aaron Hicks is not a great defender anymore. Joey Gallo hasn't been a great defender this year.
Aaron Hicks is not a great hitter. Joey Gallo is not a great hitter.
I have a solution:
Andrew Benintendi.
Andrew Benintendi is hitting to a .316/.380/.411 (.792 OPS/128 OPS+) extended triple-slash this year. He's at a +1.6 bWAR.
Andrew Benintendi was a gold glove winner last season (and to be fair, so was Joey Gallo).
Andrew Benintendi was a part of the American League East for a number of years. He was a former Boston Red Sox (and must want to get revenge for their trading him away). Andrew Benintendi only has one year left on his contract. Andrew Benintendi is a left-handed hitter. Andrew Benintendi is a former top-prospect in the MLB. Andrew Benintendi has a fun name.
If the point isn't clear enough now, I don't think it will ever be. All signs point to Andrew Benintendi being a good player for the Yankees to go after.
So, how do we make this happen?
Andrew Benintendi is worth just +11.5 MTV from BaseballTradeValues.com. The Yankees can do more than enough to get him. Joey Gallo is worth +7.5 MTV. Trade him to another team to get back a prospect and trade him to the Royals. Add in a player like Beck Way (+4.6 MTV), Yohendrys Gomez (+4.0 MTV), or Antonio Gomez (+3.7 MTV) and the values just about work out.
Would you trade Joey Gallo and a prospect you've probably never heard of for a clear outfield upgrade? A guy who can get consistent hits? A guy who will be able to get a hit when there are runners in scoring position?
Make it happen today. Make it happen tomorrow. Make it happen as I head to the game tonight.
Andrew Benintendi is the name of the trade deadline.
Andrew Benintendi.
I would trade Gallo and Hicks for a NY deli reuben sandwich and an ABBA cd.
Yankees are scoring 4.8runs/gm and giving up 3runs/gm.
Yankees are winning far more games than they are losing.
Yankees are expected to win 100 games.
Yankees are going to have to replace Joey Gallo, who is a free agent at season's end
Benintendi is a free agent at season's end....and the Yankees would have to replace him at season's end.
Benintendi is a fairly good defender and hits a lot of singles so that he has a good batting average. he also runs well. he would be a slight offensive upgrade from Gallo
Benintendi, if given regular playing time, would supply an OPS+ about equal to that of Miguel Andujar, who is not yet a good defender but who is…
It makes too much sense for it to happen. He will wind up going to another team for a package that leaves us scratching our heads why Cash didn’t pull the trigger.
Meanwhile, the narrative will be how much they believe in “Hicksie”. barf! Sigh
I think the Royals would try to hold up anyone for prospects in exchange for Benintendi. I wouldn't want to over pay. I doubt Gallo will bring anything at this point. His contract is up this year, his defense has declined, as you note, he won't try to hit to the left side, and he can't hit anything in the upper half of the strike zone. He still has an excellent eye, and he'll wallop mistakes in the lower half the zone, but 1) a rebuilding team has no use for him, and 2) no contender is going to look at him and go, "Yeah, he can put us over the edge to get into the post-season." He is functio…