As you Could’ve Guessed, the Blue Jays are one of the Teams in on Andrew Benintendi
1 year ago
According to Jon Morosi, the Jays are one of the teams looking at the Kansas City Royals’ Andrew Benintendi.
This season, the left fielder is slashing .305/.370/.393 with three homers. He has a low K% of 13.8%, but will also take a walk as his BB% sits at 9.5%. He also has a 120 wRC+ and an fWAR of 1.4, well above replacement level.
Defensively, he’s an average defender, as he has a 2 Defensive Runs Saved and 1 Outs Above Average. However, in 2021, he posted a DRS of 7 (the best since his first full two seasons) and an Outs Above Average of 0, his third best season by that metric.
Defensively, he’s a slight upgrade over Lourdes Gurriel Jr, and if the Jays were to trade for Benintendi, I could see the two of them platoon.
In fact, I find the two players rather comparable, as Gurriel is slashing .283/.336/.408 with four homers and a wRC+ of 111.
The reason why he’ll be a hot commodity come August 2nd is because Benintendi is in the final year of his contract. The soon to be 28-year-old makes $8,500,000 this season, before hitting the open market after the 2022 season.
Trading for a player with an expiring contract is a double edge sword. On one hand, depending on the prospects they give up, this trade could really hurt in a few years. On the other hand, Benintendi is a significant upgrade over Ramiel Tapia, and is arguably better than Gurriel Jr.
Along with other additions, trading for Benintendi may be what solidifies the Jays as a contender.
Speaking of other additions, it’s been evident that the Jays need some bullpen help. Thankfully, Morosi notes that the Royals have some bullpen arms that could be of use. Chief among them is Scott Barlow, but you can read about him in Kansas’ addition of Meet the Sellers.
Other bullpen options include Dylan Coleman, Taylor Clarke, and Josh Staumont, all of which would cost quite a few assets.
One last note:
According to Sports Illustrated’s Mitch Bannon, Ross Atkins says teams are inquiring less about Alejandro Kirk, Gabriel Moreno and Danny Jansen due to the answer that’s given. Presumably, this is an immediate hang up, but who knows.
Atkins also stated that “We value all three of them, probably more than you do.” It’s possible one of them is moved, but I believe that would happen in the off season, and it likely wouldn’t be Alejandro Kirk.
What do you think? Are the Royals an ideal trading partner for the Jays? Benintendi and Barlow could really help this team, as both of those players are upgrades over what the Jays currently have.
As always, you can follow me on Twitter. I’ll be appearing on Prospects Live’s mock draft where I’ll be picking for the Jays. You can watch it on their Youtube channel.
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