The Daunting Task of Trading Benintendi

It was recently reported by Bob Nightengale that the White Sox are shopping Andrew Benintendi.

As someone who has tried to sell a Squier bass with bowed neck and a missing tuning peg, I am well aware that you can try to sell anything. But it of course requires someone to want to buy it. I’ve come up with a few scenarios where that might be the case, so let’s step through this and see if we can find a buyer or at least have a little fun.

Teams With Shorter Bad Contracts

It’s possible a team with let’s say $50M in contract over the next two years may want to spread that out for a little breathing room. Something like the Jays wanting to do this with George Springer. The problem is that there aren’t many contracts floating around like this, and in the case of Springer, he remains more valuable than Benintendi. There are some massive contracts that are just straight bad, like the Anthony Rendon contract. Those do the opposite of what the Sox want, so this is probably a dead end.

Lessen the Prospects By Taking Andrew

This is the one that is the most probable and should give you the nervous shits. Imagine a team not being able to meet the Garrett Crochet asking price, but willing to take on Benintendi’s contract. Would $50M get Chris Getz to take less than he should for the White Sox ace? I hope not, but it’s certainly something the buyers should all bring to the table. And this is what makes this attempt to get rid of him all the more depressing, most teams in a city with a population anywhere near ours would see this as something you could dump in pursuit of a championship.

Do Something Hilarious

As I was looking around at the shorter, higher dollar contracts that teams have sitting around, I saw an old friend. Lucas Giolito is currently recovering from elbow surgery (not Tommy John). He’s out for the year, but has a $14M player option for 2025 that he will definitely exercise. It’s nowhere near the money and there’s a strong possibility Giolito will contribute next year. But let’s just say the Red Sox have doubts. White Sox send Michael Kopech and Andrew Benintendi for Lucas Giolito and a lottery ticket, let’s say Shane Drohan. Who’s in?

-Chorizy-E