Yanks get Benintendi from Royals
The New York Yankees were expecting to see Andrew Benintendi on Thursday — they just weren’t expecting to see the All-Star outfielder in their clubhouse. The Yankees announced they had acquired Benintendi in a deal with Kansas City. The Royals, coincidentally, will be in the Bronx for a fourgame series beginning Thursday night.
ESPN first reported the deal, which sends three minor league pitchers back to Kansas City, on the heels of the Yankees being swept by the Mets in the Subway Series. The Yankees have now gone 14-15 in their past 29 games.
The 28-year-old Benintendi is slashing .321/.389/ .399 with three home runs this season. The left-handed hitter made his first All-Star Game appearance this season and is scheduled to become a free agent after the season.
The 2021 Gold Glove Award winner, Benintendi has made 89 starts in left field this year and has not made an error in 164 total chances. His 40 outfield assists since 2017 are tied for the fourth-most in the league in that span.
Over seven major league seasons with the Red Sox (2016-20) and Royals (2021-22), he has batted .280 with 71 home runs and 65 stolen bases in 712 career games. He has hit .324/.410/.491 with 45 doubles, nine triples, 14 home runs with runners in scoring position.
Benintendi has made the postseason three times with the Red Sox, including winning a World Series. He hit .272/.322/.407 with two home runs and nine RBI in 21 career postseason games.
The Royals get righthanded pitcher Beck Way,
whom the Yankees picked up in the fourth round of the 2020 draft, along with right-handed pitcher Chandler Champlain
and left-handed pitcher TJ Sikkema.
THURSDAY’S GAMES Orioles 3, Rays 0:
Trey Mancini hit an inside-the-park home run in what may have been his final plate appearance at Camden Yards as a member of the Orioles, who blanked Tampa Bay.
LATE WEDNESDAY
Mets 3, Yankees 2: Starling Marte singled
home the winning run in the ninth inning, and the host Mets beat the crosstown Yankees for a twogame sweep of their Subway Series. Max Scherzer was marvelous on his 38th birthday, striking out Aaron Judge three times.
ELSEWHERE Blue Jays:
Toronto announced plans for a $230 million renovation of Rogers Centre, its downtown home since 1989, but said the change will not involve replacing the artificial turf surface with grass. The renovation, to be undertaken in stages over the next two or three winters, will begin with the team adding raised bullpens in left and right field, adjusting the dimensions and heights of the current outfield wall, and adapting the outfield seating areas to add bars and patios.