KC Royals Trades: 4 Andrew Benintendi deals to ponder

Acquiring Andrew Benintendi from the Royals could cap New York’s season.

The Yankees are one of baseball’s best teams and their 58-22 record is tops in the majors. But although they’re dominant, adding Andrew Benintendi couldn’t hurt.

Why? Left fielder Joey Gallo is hitting just .165 this season, his .602 OPS is the lineup’s worst and, as his .325 SLG suggests, his power is all but gone.

This deal could help the Yankees and KC:

The Yankees are focused on October baseball and they ought to be interested in dealing for Benintendi and Barlow, which would maximize the Royals’ potential return.

Jasson Dominguez drew lofty raves when the Yanks signed him as an international free agent—according to MLB Pipeline, “Dominguez signed for $5.1 million out of the Dominican Republic in July 2019 after drawing comparisons to the likes of Bo Jackson, Mickey Mantle, and Mike Trout.”

Although expectations have tempered some, Dominguez’s results have still been good for such a young player: he’s slashing .256/.367/.425 with 16 steals in Low-A and should be able to stick in center field thanks to his blazing speed.

The Royals also get two near-major league-ready pitchers in this trade. Luis Gil had Tommy John Surgery earlier this year but made his way to New York last season and went 1-1 with a 3.07 ERA and 11.7 SO9 in six games.

Luis Medina is 23 and, per MLB Pipeline, has “…showcased some of the best pure stuff in the Minors for years but never has been able to locate the strike zone consistently.” He is 2-3 with a 3.65 ERA and 11.0 SO9 in Double-A. If the Royals could help him with his control, he could be a good addition to their rotation.

Should the Royals make one of these four potential deals involving Andrew Benintendi?