Could the Boston Red Sox hold a reunion with a former fan favorite down the stretch run?
Kansas City Royals outfielder Andrew Benintendi is one of the hottest commodities on the market amid his All-Star season.
While most people see the New York Yankees as the favorite to land Benintendi, a national writer floated the idea of Benny returning to Boston as the Major League Baseball trade deadline approaches on Aug. 2.
“Benintendi might be having the best season of his career,” CBS Sports’ R.J. Anderson wrote Monday. “It comes after he made a clear philosophical shift at the plate. He’s no longer attempting to lift and pull the ball to maximize his power output; instead, he’s hitting grounders at the highest rate of his career, and he’s doing it while pulling the ball less frequently. He might not continue to bat .317/.389/.401 the rest of the way, but he should find himself hitting first or second in a contender’s order before Aug. 3.”
Anderson lists the Yankees, Red Sox and St. Louis Cardinals as the top three fits for the 28-year-old contact hitter. Outfield help is not among Boston’s biggest needs, but it certainly would not hurt to add a phenomenal table-setter to the lineup with a Gold Glove on his résumé.
Jackie Bradley Jr. is hitting just .213 with a home run and 25 RBIs in 76 games. Kiké Hernández not only suffered a setback from his right hip flexor strain but was hitting just .209 with four home runs and a .613 OPS in 51 games.
Jarren Duran has been as advertised but leaves a lot to be desired defensively. There are greater concerns on the roster, but adding Benintendi back into the fold would improve a team with postseason aspirations.
