Don’t be utterly surprised if the Kansas City Royals ship Andrew Benintendi off to New York ahead of the Major League Baseball trade deadline.
And no, we’re not talking about the possibility of the All-Star outfielder joining the Yankees.
In fact, the idea of Benintendi calling the Bronx home this season apparently is off the table. The Yankees, according to the New York Post’s Jon Heyman, have ended their pursuit of Benintendi after learning of his unvaccinated status. But the Bombers’ inner-city rival appears to be keeping an eye on the 28-year-old.
Heyman on Thursday reported Benintendi, who’s on an expiring contract and probably isn’t long for Kansas City, is “on the Mets’ radar.” Steve Cohen’s club, which currently owns a 2 1/2-game lead atop the National League East standings, is looking to add hitting prior to the Aug. 2 deadline, per Heyman.
Benintendi being unvaccinated probably is of no concern to the Mets, who don’t have any trips to Toronto on their regular-season schedule. There’s obviously the potential of the Blue Jays reaching the 2022 World Series, but Toronto probably can be tabbed as a long shot to win the pennant in an American League that’s suddenly become even more competitive than originally anticipated.
While Mark Canha is amid a respectable season in Queens, pairing Benintendi with Starling Marte would give the Mets one of the better corner-outfield tandems in the big leagues. Pete Alonso and company could use all of the star power it can garner to fend off the Atlanta Braves in the NL East and stage a deep postseason run, so a Benintendi trade would be a practical move for the Mets.
