Report: Phillies not part of Andrew Benintendi trade talks

It appears that Monday’s trade which allowed the Philadelphia Phillies to acquire infielder C.J. Chatham from the Boston Red Sox may be the biggest deal between the two clubs this offseason.

Despite speculation that new Phillies president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski could attempt to acquire outfielder Andrew Benintendi from his former employer, Rob Bradford of WEEI reports that the Phillies “are not in the mix” for the 26-year-old.

Without certainty about whether the DH will return to the National League in 2021, it really didn’t make sense for the Phillies to be in on Benintendi, because Andrew McCutchen, due $20 million this season, will be entrenched in left field. McCutchen is probably best-geared to be a DH at this stage of his career, and he certainly can’t play center field anymore. The Phillies do have uncertainty in center field, but Benintendi hasn’t played center field since 2019, and has -7 career defensive runs saved at the position.

If the Phillies aren’t content with some combination of Scott Kingery, Adam Haseley, Mickey Moniak and Roman Quinn in center field this upcoming season, another former Red Sox, Jackie Bradley Jr., probably makes more sense as a target. In December, Jon Morosi of MLB.com reported that the Phillies were among those interested in Bradley Jr., though it’s unclear if Dombrowski and company are still pursuing the former Gold Glove Award winner.

It’s possible that with holes still at catcher, shortstop and the back-end of the starting rotation – along with the need for more stability in the bullpen – center field is the position that the Phillies will stand pat on and hope for internal progression.

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