How Adding Andrew Benintendi Impacts Rest of Yankees' Outfielders

Andrew Benintendi's presence will shake up New York's playing time in the outfield going forward, a good problem to have when you're adding an All-Star to the mix.

Author:
Max Goodman
Publish date:
Jul 28, 2022 8:45 PM EDT

In this story:

New York Yankees

Andrew Benintendi

Joey Gallo

NEW YORK — Andrew Benintendi is poised to be a tremendous fit for the Yankees over the final few months of this season, a trade deadline acquisition with elite bat-to-ball skills and postseason experience.

What does his presence in pinstripes mean for the rest of New York's outfielders, though?

Considering the Yankees spent three pitching prospects to get Benintendi on Wednesday, a free agent at the end of this season, this club will use the outfielder as much as possible the rest of the way. Manager Aaron Boone penciled the All-Star outfielder in as the starting left fielder on Thursday night. In all likelihood, that's where he'll play going forward.

Boone was asked about each of the other players on New York's active roster that have spent a significant time in the outfield this year, walking through each asset's role going forward now that Benintendi is in the picture.

Joey Gallo

Gallo leads the Yankees with 45 games played in left field this year, the player that will see the biggest dip in playing time after Benintendi's arrival.

It was only a matter of time until New York made a move to replace Gallo, considering the way he's performed since he was acquired just about one year ago. Gallo is hitting just .161 this season while producing some of the worst strikeout and swing-and-miss metrics in all of baseball. Meanwhile, Benintendi was hitting .320 with the Royals, putting the ball in play at an elite rate.

Boone said Thursday that he'll be honest with Gallo about his role. The skipper explained that while some players continue to spiral when a new asset is brought in, others are "galvanized," using this type of transaction as a spark to begin performing better.

"This is the highest league in the land and it's a very competitive environment," Boone said. "I think in the best cultures, there's a level of competition and guys pushing each other, fighting for playing time and things like that. While that can sometimes bring up the worst in people, I think, hopefully more often it brings out the best people and you want that healthy competition."

New York optioned Tim Locastro down to Triple-A on Thursday to make room for Benintendi, allowing Gallo to stick around, but it still feels like his days in pinstripes are numbered. Either the Yankees find a way to move him before next week's deadline, getting some value in return, they cut ties with him entirely or he continues to receive sporadic playing time off the bench.

"He's in right field today and I expect him to hopefully go out and be productive for us tonight," Boone said.

Aaron Judge

Andrew Benintendi? Juan Soto? Whoever the Yankees acquire leading up to this summer's deadline, Aaron Judge is going to be in the lineup each and every day.

The slugger entered play on Thursday night with 38 home runs, the most in Major League Baseball, with an impressive slash line of .292/.374/.648 in 96 games.

Really, the only change for Judge is that he might return to right field more often down the stretch, per Boone. Judge has played the majority of this season in center. It hasn't been a problem to this point, but in the interest of keeping him fresh for the postseason, Boone has been planning to give him more starts in right, along with occasional designated hitter days as well.

Also, when everyone is healthy—and now that Benintendi is here—Judge isn't guaranteed to hit second in the lineup each game either.

Aaron Hicks

Hicks had a dreadful month of May, making it seem like New York needed to replace him in the outfield as well. Since June 1, however, Hicks has settled into a groove, batting .282/.401/.452.

Even with Judge playing center field more often this year, Hicks still leads the team in games played in center (55). Expect to see him there, rather than the corners, going forward—especially if he keeps hitting.

"I think Aaron's done a really good job in left field," Boone said. "There'll be some competition for playing time and things like that, but we'll try and put everyone in the best possible position to give us a good chance every game."

Giancarlo Stanton

Stanton is currently on the 10-day injured list with left Achilles tendinitis, but when he returns, it'll be tougher to find time for him in the outfield.

The slugger has played in 38 games in the outfield this year, more than any season since his first year in pinstripes back in 2018.

That said, Stanton won't come back and play designated hitter every game. It depends on how healthy he is, but Boone wants him mixed into the outfield rotation as well.

"Again, circumstances, performance, all those kinds of things will dictate [playing time]. I still envision him getting out in the field some and we'll see where we are when he comes off [the injured list] and how he is physically and things like that."

Matt Carpenter

Over the last few months, we've seen Matt Carpenter in the outfield a decent amount, a means to keep his red-hot bat in the lineup. Since the All-Star break, however, Carpenter has cooled off significantly offensively. It's still a relatively small sample size, but he's 3-for-22 since the All-Star Game, taking his average on the season down from .354 to .307.

Defensively, Boone is pleased with what he's seen from Carpenter in the outfield, a position he hadn't played since 2014 before this year with the Yankees. He singled out a play Carpenter made at Citi Field on Wednesday, charging in on a hard line drive before making the grab with ease.

"I think he's taken to the outfield better than I would have expected," Boone said. "Obviously though, we brought in another outfielder. That potentially impacts him a little bit. What I do know is that he's obviously shown you guys and certainly us how impactful he can be, so he'll still get his opportunities. He'll still be in there. When he's not—tonight, I've got him down—we got a pretty good weapon sitting over there from the left side."

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