A rival executive expects the Red Sox to trade Andrew Benintendi before the end of the weekend, per Marc Feinsand of MLB.com. If this rival executive is right, here are a few teams that may be in need of outfield help.
Chicago Cubs
The Cubs look like they are starting to re-tool after dumping salary in the Yu Darvish trade and the organization non-tendering Kyle Schwarber. Jason Heyward and Ian Happ are the only concrete starters on the depth chart and bringing in Benintendi could be a nice surprise for Chicago.
Atlanta Braves
The Braves made a great one-year investment in Marcel Ozuna but have a hole in left field, as he is a free agent and might not be in their plans if there’s no DH in 2021. The Braves have a great lineup, so putting Benintendi at the bottom of it could relieve him of the pressure of being at the top of the order like he is in Boston.
Right now, Atlanta only has Ronald Acuna Jr. as a starting outfielder on their roster with backup Ender Inciarte as a possibility to play a corner spot if he absolutely needs to.
Houston Astros
The Astros are not going to look like the same team they were last season, as they’re likely losing two of their best hitters in George Springer and Michael Brantley. That leaves center field and left field as holes that need to be filled by GM James Click, so Benintendi could fit that bill.
Benintendi could reunite with Jackie Bradley Jr. in Houston since they’ll be looking for a center fielder to replace Springer, who just got too expensive for a team that needs to save money for Carlos Correa next winter.
Photo: (John Tlumacki – Boston Globe)