Wed, Feb 10, 2021 at 10:35pm

KC COMPLETES BENINTENDI TRADE

In a three-team trade, the Kansas City Royals acquired outfielder Andrew Benintendi and cash from the Boston Red Sox; Boston acquired outfielder Franchy Cordero and two players to be named later (Luis De La Rosa and Grant Gambrell - 06/04/2021) from the Royals, and pitcher Josh Winckowski and a player to be named later (Freddy Valdez - 06/04/2021) from the New York Mets; and New York acquired outfielder Khalil Lee from the Royals.

What does it give the Kansas City Royals
In Benintendi, the Royals land the best player in this deal. However, the 26-year-old outfielder has really struggled since 2018, so Kansas City is hopeful that a change of scenery will help turn his career around. It is a great gamble for the Royals, who are devoid of talent (especially in the outfield) and could use all the help they can get. Depending on the quality of the players to be named later, this deal could turn out to be a true steal for KC.

What does it give the Boston Red Sox
The Red Sox basically tired of waiting for Benintendi to turn things around, so they shipped him to KC for mostly futures. Cordero is not nearly as talented as Benintendi, but he should be able to get regular at-bats as part of Boston's outfield. Winckowski was with the Blue Jays but then traded to New York in the Steven Matz deal. He is on the move again, but is a decent pitching prospect (nothing more). Boston needs the players to be named later to pan out here.

What does it give the
This deal seems like a no-brainer from the Mets end, since Winckowski was not in the organization for long and New York needs outfield prospects more than pitching prospects at this time. Lee has a lot of warts in his swing but is an excellent athlete with great speed and power. The 22-year-old Lee played Double-A ball in 2019, so he might be close to MLB. He is probably the second-best talent in this complicated trade.

Fantasy impact
All three outfielders involved in this transaction figure to benefit from the deal. Benintendi is a solid rebound candidate in Kansas City, so he should move up most draft boards at this time. Cordero needs to figure out Fenway Park, which is not always an easy transition for a left-handed batter. That said, he could be a late-round gem in some league formats. As for Lee, pick him up in keeper leagues only (for now), but monitor his progress during spring training. Winckowski is a borderline fantasy prospect for keeper leagues at this time. He may get a better opportunity with Boston.