OAKLAND, CALIFORNIA – JUNE 17: Andrew Benintendi #16 of the Kansas City Royals looks on during the game against the Oakland Athletics at RingCentral Coliseum on June 17, 2022 in Oakland, California. (Photo by Lachlan Cunningham/Getty Images)
Since June 20, Kansas City Royals outfielder Andrew Benintendi has a .411 batting average and .500 on-base percentage, making him one of the more attractive targets at the trade deadline.
The Royals, meanwhile, have little reason not to trade him. Kansas City is last in the AL Central — behind even the lowly Detroit Tigers. If the KC front office fails to deal a man they took a relative flier on for prospect capital, it should be considered a failure on all fronts. Whether they want to admit it or not, this team is still a few years away.
As for the man himself, Benintendi is focusing on what he can control, which evidently are his gaudy statistics. If he’s in Kansas City, he’s likely to be the Royals representative at the All-Star Game is Los Angeles.
“I think it goes back to there’s only so much you can control,” Benintendi said, per The Kansas City Star. “I mean, I feel like when I was younger and when I first came up, I’d try to control a lot more than what I was capable of, and that would lead to worrying about stuff that didn’t really matter. I just think less is more.”
So, where could Benintendi end up? A few teams stand out.
Andrew Benintendi rumors: San Diego Padres
The Padres don’t have much of a farm system anymore, given many of those players have either grown up to the MLB level or been traded elsewhere for top talent. However, KC would be smart to see what San Diego has to offer at the minor-league level. If the offers for Benintendi aren’t as strong as anticipated, perhaps including some major-league talent would work.
San Diego is chasing the Los Angeles Dodgers in the NL West. In order to catch them, they’ll need the offensive upgrade Benintendi can offer them.