Royals Trade Benintendi For Three Pitching Prospects

As the Major League Baseball world nears the trade deadline the Kansas City Royals and New York Yankees Wednesday pulled off a deal that will send outfielder Andrew Benintendi to the Yankees for three Minor Leaguers.

the 28-year-old Benintendi, a first-time All-Star and a free agent this offseason, is having the best season of his career with a .321/.389/.399 slash line and a 124 OPS+ in 92 games.

The 28-year-old has postseason experience, plays Gold Glove-caliber defense in left field and will give the Yankees a left-handed on-base machine to complement their power-packed lineup.

The Royals get three pitching prospects in exchange for Benintendi- lefty T.J. Sikkema — rated the Yankees’ No. 19 prospect and a former Missouri pitcher — right-hander Beck Way (No. 21) and right-hander Chandler Champlain.

The 24-year-old Sikkema was the Yankees’ 38th overall pick in the 2019 Draft. He owns a 2.48 ERA across 36 1/3 innings and 11 appearances (10 starts) with 54 strikeouts and nine walks with High-A Hudson Valley this season. He missed all of the 2021 season with shoulder and lat issues that didn’t require surgery.

Way is 22-years-old and was New York’s fourth-round pick in 2020 out of Northwest Florida State College. He’s 5-5 with a 3.73 ERA and 80 strikeouts in 72 1/3 innings and 15 starts this year in High-A. He leads the South Atlantic League with a .212 opponents’ batting average and ranks third with a 1.12 WHIP.

Champlain was the Yankees’ ninth-round pick in 2021 out of USC and just turned 23. He has a 4.30 ERA with 94 strikeouts and just 19 walks across 73 1/3 innings with Single-A Tampa this season.

Way and Sikkema will be assigned to High-A Quad Cities, and Champlain will join Single-A Columbia.