Dodgers Rumors: LA Among Teams That Explored Trade for Royals Outfielder

Royals outfielder Andrew Benitendi would've been a great fit on the Dodgers.

With the deadline coming up on Tuesday afternoon, the trade market is officially off and rolling this week and teams around the league are looking to improve their rosters and make a run at their divisions, and beyond. Dodgers fans are hoping that, as they have seen in years past, this is another year where their team makes some of the biggest waves and once again, lands a big-game talent. 

But last night, in one of the biggest moves of this year's deadline, the New York Yankees were the ones who landed Andrew Benintendi. It's a deal with the Royals that included 3 of their pitching prospects.  

Heading to Royals, per source: Chandler Champlain, Beck Way, TJ Sikkema https://t.co/IgLzs86daX

— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) July 28, 2022

Wednesday night, Ken Rosenthal reported that the Dodgers, Brewers, and Blue Jays were the other three teams that were looking at acquiring him. But if the Dodgers had made that trade, Los Angeles' roster-crunch position could be far more problematic than it is right now.

Benintendi’s vaccination status was never discussed, sources tell me and @Jaysonst. Yankees either not worried about one remaining series they have in Toronto, or received some indication Benintendi might get vaccine. TOR also was in mix for Benintendi, as were MIL and LAD.

— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) July 28, 2022

But Benintendi is having a fantastic year at the plate batting .320 while showing an incredible contact rate. And although he doesn’t hit for a lot of power, he has one of the better strikeout percentages in baseball and is also walking at a decent rate while posting a 126 wRC+ in 93 games. 

Those numbers would boost any lineup.

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Realistically, adding him to the Dodgers outfield would have been a luxury rather than a necessity and with a year of injuries to the starting rotation, there are other areas that the Dodgers may feel take priority in their need to be addressed.