*Photo from the Boston Globe*
The Boston Red Sox have been undergoing some serious roster reshuffling recently. It shows in their latest move. The Red Sox have traded OF Andrew Benintendi and cash considerations to the Kansas City Royals in a 3 team trade with the New York Mets, according to MLB Network's Jon Morosi. The Red Sox are sending $2.8 million to the Royals to cover some of the $6.6 million owed to him this season. All 3 teams have confirmed the trade.
This trade is a big one, with the Mets getting OF prospect Khalil Lee from the Royals, the Royals simply getting Benintendi and $2.8 million from the Red Sox, and the Red Sox getting OF Franchy Cordero and two players to be named later from the Royals, and RHP Josh Winckowski and a player to be named later from the Mets.
Red Sox Chief Baseball Officer Chaim Bloom said of Benintendi's time in Boston that "I think in many ways the accomplishments of homegrown payers are the most special to organizations, and Andrew is a great example of that. There are so many people who played a role in bringing him to the organization, helping him become who he became and supporting him along the way. Obviously, Andrew deserves the most credit for what he accomplished, but for all of those people, there's a ton to be proud of."
Benintendi struggled through ineffectiveness and injuries in 2020, limiting him to just 14 games in the Red Sox outfield. Benintendi posted an average of just .103, with a dismal .442 OPS, hitting zero homers and driving in just one run in his 14 games. In Benintendi's 5 big league seasons, he has an average of .273 with a .789 OPS, hitting 51 homers and driving in 260 runs in 485 games.
Royals GM Dayton Moore was hopeful of Benintendi rebounding, saying that "We just believe in the player. He's 26 years old, and he’s always performed. He’s performed at every level. We are confident that he’ll be able to get back to his accustomed level. He’s just entering his prime. And we do know from all the information we were able to obtain that he’s worked his tail off this offseason, he’s in great shape, he’s in a great frame of mind and he’s ready to go."
Like Benintendi, Cordero was also affected by injuries this season, although injuries have had a far more common hold in Cordero's career. Cordero posted an average of .211 with a .733 OPS, hitting two homers and driving in 7 runs in 16 games with the Royals, before getting injured. In Cordero's 4 seasons, he has a .236 average with a .737 OPS, hitting 12 homers and 36 RBI in just 95 games played.
Cordero has lots of power, but has also spent plenty of time on the injured list, not having been able to survive a full season yet. Cordero's 2018 season ended in May due to a right forearm strain. In 2019, Cordero lasted just 9 games due to a right elbow strain that just didn't get any better. This time around, he was limited to 16 games due to a sprained right wrist, which put Cordero out of commission for 6 weeks.
Bloom talked about the addition of Cordero, saying that "Obviously we need to get to know him in all ways and just see exactly the role he can play. But historically he's been a guy who can play all three outfield positions, who brings a power bat from the left side, hits the ball about as hard as anybody in the big leagues and so he should be able to fit in terms of how our roster functions very similarly to Benintendi."
The Mets, on the other hand, played a smaller role in the trade, only adding Lee from the Royals to improve their outfield prospect depth chart, which is currently highlighted by Pete Crow Armstrong and not much else. Lee spent 129 games in the 2019 season at the Double A level in the Royals system, hitting .264 with 8 homers. Lee can also steal bases, recording a league leading 53 steals in 2019. Lee is slated to start this season at the Triple A level, with the potential to be a September call up if all goes well.
The Mets are giving up Winckowski, a RHP who is ranked 26th in the Mets top 30, to the Red Sox, as well as a player to be named later. Winckowski hasn't been with the Mets for a full month, as he was acquired from the Blue Jays in the Steven Matz trade recently, along with a handful of pitching prospects. Now, he's on the move again, this time, to the Red Sox.
Winckowski has a career 18-17 record, with a 3.55 ERA, and 237 strikeouts to his name in 263 innings pitched in his minors career, which spans 54 appearances, 50 of which were starts. He has yet to pitch above the High A Level, but likely would've been a Double A pitcher if there had been a season in 2020. He will become the 30th ranked prospect in the Red Sox system.
Bloom said of Winckowski that "This is a big, physical kid who has a developing repertoire. He's been primarily a fastball-slider, but he has a couple different fastballs. He’s had a changeup in the past during instructional league. This year he’s working on a splitter, which showed some promise. Velo-wise, he’s gotten it up there to the high 90s at times."
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