It's finally happened: The Boston Red Sox traded Andrew Benintendi.
MLB Network's Jon Heyman reported Wednesday night that the Red Sox have traded the 26-year-old outfielder to the Kansas City Royals pending approvals and medicals.
Heyman also reports the New York Mets are involved as a third team:
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The Boston Globe's Alex Speier reports the expected return for the Sox is "multiple players."
Benintendi's name had been the subject of trade rumors and speculation for months.
He was once a top prospect and played well in his first two full seasons with Boston, helping the franchise win the World Series over the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2018. He also made an amazing diving catch with the bases loaded for the final out in Game 4 of the 2018 American League Championship Series versus the Houston Astros.
Boston Red Sox
Unfortunately for the Red Sox, Benintendi struggled in 2019 and his performance regressed. He managed to play just 14 games in 2020 due to injury.
Benintendi finishes his Red Sox career with a .273 batting average, 51 home runs, 260 RBI and a .353 on-base percentage in 485 regular season games.
He is under contract for $6.6 million in 2021, per Spotrac, and has another year of arbitration in 2022 before he can become an unrestricted free agent.