Bye Bye Benintendi
Andrew Benintendi isn't a fit for the Mets, much as I wish he was.
Among Mets fans, I have liked Andrew Benintendi longer than anyone I know.
“Benintendi is one of my favorite Red Sox,” I wrote early in 2019. “He is a young centerfielder, not yet 25, who looks endearingly like a bulldog. From what we have seen of him, he seems likely to bat .290, with a .366 On-Base Percentage and 20 home runs and stolen bases a year, until the earth crashes into the sun.”
Was my pronouncement premature? Sure. Then again, I had made it before.
“How can you not love a guy like Andrew Benintendi?” I wrote in March 2018. “Whether or not he grows into a star this year, or merely has a repeat, solid performance, the kid’s already a captain in the making.”
I never thought Benintendi would hit the trade market at age 26; then again, I’ll bet most Red Sox fans didn’t either. But now, here we are. Various reports indicate that the Red Sox are actively looking to move Benintendi for prospects. Mark Feinsand of MLB.com reports that a “rival executive familiar with Red Sox thinking said he would be ‘shocked’ if Andrew Benintendi wasn’t traded before the end of the weekend.”
Unfortunately, Benintendi isn’t much of a fit for the Mets. He’s primarily a left-fielder, when the Mets need someone in center, and he’s also not much of a defender: he’s never had an OAA higher than one, and that was in only 23 attempts during 2020’s shortened season. He’s another lefthanded bat, when the Mets’ lineup is already overloaded with lefties. He had a down year last season, but he wasn’t even that good in 2019, and it’s far from clear whether he can rebound in 2021 and beyond.
No, Benintendi doesn’t make sense as a trade target for the Mets. But he’s such an intriguing player, such an appealing profile, that I still find myself hoping the Mets ignore good sense and make a deal for him.
For the Mets, trading for Benintendi right now would be sort of like adopting a bulldog puppy when you already have two dogs at home. It doesn’t make much sense; indeed, close friends might question your decision-making capabilities. But if you look that bulldog in the eye and can’t for one second stop imagining how nice it would be to make him your own, decision-making goes out the window. Like choosing a team to root for or a favorite player, it becomes an unconscious decision, made by the heart and carried out deferentially by the Baseball Operations office.
Incidentally, my family once came upon a bulldog puppy up at a dog adoption event. It was rolling and tumbling around its enclosure with a hint of mania in its eyes, but still, my mother hesitantly inquired about its availability.
“This is Charlie,” a volunteer said cheerfully. “He has a heart condition, and if you adopt him, you also need to take his sister, who’s paralyzed.” That was the end of that. But I digress.
I don’t want the Mets to trade for Benintendi, because right now he doesn’t fill a need and isn’t worth trading for. But all the same, if they did, I’d be thrilled. It’s a strange position to be in. Imagine if, in nine years, the Mets pursued a decrepit Mike Trout, even though they already had a solid outfield. He wouldn’t be necessary or useful — but he would be Mike Trout! The star of the century, the icon of modern baseball, a player you’ve watched with glee for — at that point — going on two decades.
Benintendi isn’t old and decrepit, and he’s not a transcendent star, but broadly, the situation is the same. Here’s a player of whom I think the world, a player whose game embodies all that is good about baseball, and somehow, he’s available on the trade market, probably even for a fairly modest return. And yet, because of a quirk of bad timing, the Mets have no need, and probably no interest.
In Brandon Nimmo, Michael Conforto, and either Dominic Smith or a player to be named later, the Mets have an excellent group patrolling the outfield. Unless they’re going to make a major upgrade, resources and energy are best directed elsewhere: another starter, a reliever, a third baseman. Andrew Benintendi won’t be a Met, much as this Benintendi fan would love to see him in orange and blue. As far as the Mets go, Benintendi’s destiny is sealed: he’ll be a faint memory, a passing mention of a player who might have made a good Met. “Andrew Benintendi? I always thought he would play for the Mets one day. Never did…we already had outfielders. The timing never quite worked out, I guess. Wish we’d had him. Nice player. That reminds me, how’s your bulldog?”