NEW YORK — The New York Yankees have acquired outfielder Andrew Benintendi from the Kansas City Royals in exchange for three minor league pitchers.
The exchange agreed on Wednesday would be the first among several that will have to be signed for next week, when the deadline to carry out these operations expires.
The rights Chandler Champlain and Beck Way go to the Royals, along with the left-hander T. J. Sikkema.
Benintendi, a 28-year-old left-handed hitter, was among 10 Royals players who missed a four-game series in Toronto from July 14-17 because they weren’t vaccinated. He has lost $186,813 of the $8.5 million salary he earned in arbitration against the Royals by not getting immunized.
New York believes that Benintendi would be willing to get vaccinated. No Yankees player has missed previous trips to Toronto this season, and the Yankees will play a series there Sept. 26-28.
Benintendi is hitting .320 with three homers, 39 RBIs and a 788 OPS. He won a Gold Glove in left field last year, and hasn’t made an error this season. He was elected to the All-Star Game for the first time.
Eligible for free agency at the end of this season, Benintendi gives the Yankees another outfield option in addition to Aaron Judge and Aaron Hicks.
Giancarlo Stanton, who has played 38 games in the outfield, would miss at least two or three weeks of activity. He went on the disabled list this week with Achilles tendon inflammation.
Joey Gallo is batting .161 with 103 strikeouts in 230 at-bats. He has become a constant target of boos.
New York has increasingly used Matt Carpenter, 36, in the outfield, where he hadn’t played since 2014.
Yankees manager Aaron Boone ruled out that his team has too many power hitters in its lineup. Benintendi should improve the performance of a team whose lefties hit .214, against .258 for righties.
“We’ve got some really good, wild hitters in the lineup. Benintendi is a great hitter, he gets on base at a really high rate, he hits from the left side, so, yeah, he gives us some balance,” Boone said after the loss. suffered Wednesday against the Mets.
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Yankees acquire Benintendi in trade with Royals