Braves: 3 trade deadline targets we should be scouting
By Sam Peebles
Braves deadline targets: Andrew Benintendi
It can be argued that Andrew Benintendi never truly lived up to the hype of when he was a prospect in the Boston Red Sox system. However, he is a solid overall outfielder, which is something the Atlanta Braves need.
The Kansas City Royals do not look to be competitors anytime soon, so there is no reason to keep Andrew Benintendi. He is arguably one of their best trade chips and it would make sense for them to at least get something in return for him before he walks as a free agent at the end of the season.
Even though Benintendi has not lived up to the hype, he is on track to have the best offensive output of his career, with a slash line of .329/.396/.423, which equates to a 140 OPS+.
To be fair, he had a higher OPS in 2018, but offense across the league is down this season, so his OPS+ is 17 percentage points better in comparison to the league this year.
We know the Braves could use some help defensively. Benintendi is currently having a down year from a dWAR standpoint at -0.2. However, since 2016, he has only had one season other than 2022 where is dWAR was in the negative (2019).
His BABIP is currently sitting at .373 which is well above his average of .322, so odds are he will come to earth to bit. However, even if he does, he would be a huge upgrade offensively over what he would be replacing for the Braves.
As far as his peripherals go, he is not hitting the ball hard, nor have a high expected slugging, but he is hitting to get on base, which is something the Atlanta Braves desperately need. He also does not strikeout or chase the ball a lot either, which also has been a concern for the Braves.
Benintendi’s Statcast numbers in these areas fit what the Braves need:
- Strikeout rate – Top 11%
- Chase rate – Top 11%
- Walk Rate – Top 35%
- xwOBA – Top 37%
- xBA – Top 32%
Benintendi’s current wOBA would put him second among Braves starters behind Acuña (unless you want to count Contreras, who leads the team). Even if you were swap in his xwOBA instead of wOBA, it would still put Benintendi in 3rd among Braves.
With the Braves not having to give up much financially or much in terms of prospects, it makes sense to make this move.