Benintendi agrees to a 2-year, $10 million deal

bigq

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That seems like a very reasonable contract. Hope he can continue to improve and grow.
 

scottyno

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He was going to make between 3 and 4 this year. JB made 8.5 last year for his 2nd year of arb coming off a mediocre season, so not sure I understand why AB would take 2-10. Good for the Sox though.
 

DeadlySplitter

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this raises his luxury tax hit by 1-2 million this year. doesn't really lend itself to keeping Betts and getting barely under... not that anyone should be surprised by that.
 

Rovin Romine

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He was going to make between 3 and 4 this year. JB made 8.5 last year for his 2nd year of arb coming off a mediocre season, so not sure I understand why AB would take 2-10. Good for the Sox though.
It's guaranteed money at the beginning of his career, and a nice little cushion. He's got one more year of arb, then free agency in 2023.
 

Rough Carrigan

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That seems like a very reasonable contract. Hope he can continue to improve and grow.
But he hasn't been improving and growing. He took a serious step backward last year. In 2017 his OPS + was 103. In 2018 it rose to a very good 123. Last year it dropped to 100. He lost ground across the board including his strikeout rate going way up.
 

bigq

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But he hasn't been improving and growing. He took a serious step backward last year. In 2017 his OPS + was 103. In 2018 it rose to a very good 123. Last year it dropped to 100. He lost ground across the board including his strikeout rate going way up.
Agree that last year was a step back. The coming two seasons are his chance to show that last year was an anomaly and that he is worth a bigger pay day in 2022.
 

chawson

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Maybe it’s because I’m too young to remember Fred Lynn, but I don’t understand the unbridled optimism this board has for Benintendi. He’s fine, often good, but mostly because of his high floor.

Regardless, this seems like a fine move because it probably shaves a couple mil off next year’s AAV, and/or makes him easier to trade.
 
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jon abbey

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Insanity. I'm happy. I'm surprised. Can't believe we got em.
 

stepson_and_toe

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But he hasn't been improving and growing. He took a serious step backward last year. In 2017 his OPS + was 103. In 2018 it rose to a very good 123. Last year it dropped to 100. He lost ground across the board including his strikeout rate going way up.
I Thought his fielding took a tumble, too.
 

P'tucket rhymes with...

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But he hasn't been improving and growing. He took a serious step backward last year. In 2017 his OPS + was 103. In 2018 it rose to a very good 123. Last year it dropped to 100. He lost ground across the board including his strikeout rate going way up.
Do we know if he's been messing with his launch angle? Hard contact was up a bunch last year (38.1% v. 28% in '18), but his FB rate was up as well (40.7% v. 35.4%) and LD was down (21.0% v. 23.8%).
 

IpswichSox

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While Benintendi is no Mookie, this mini-deal signals he's at least open to a long-term agreement later if that's in the interests of both parties, as opposed to Mookie, who was insistent on pushing the financial envelope from his initial bonus to his desire to go to free agency (which is Mookie's absolute right to do, of course).
 

Savin Hillbilly

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The wrong side of the bridge....
While Benintendi is no Mookie, this mini-deal signals he's at least open to a long-term agreement later if that's in the interests of both parties, as opposed to Mookie, who was insistent on pushing the financial envelope from his initial bonus to his desire to go to free agency (which is Mookie's absolute right to do, of course).
Why does this signal that he's open to a long-term deal? He wasn't going anywhere (at least, not of his own volition) during the term covered by the deal anyway. This is just rolling two pre-ordained contracts into one.

The only practical impacts of this deal I can see are (1) it removes one small piece of uncertainty about the Sox' payroll/LT situation for the next two years, and (2) it makes Benintendi that much more attractive a trade asset.
 

IpswichSox

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See above posts. With a return-to-form 2020, Benintendi could have received more than $6.6 million in arbitration for 2021. While he is locking in $10 million, he may be leaving some money on the table. Unlike Mookie, who bet on himself every year, this would indicate that Benintendi could be more open to a pre-FA deal and may not be looking to ensure he receives maximum dollar. That's all I was suggesting.
 

mwonow

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Maybe it’s because I’m too young to remember Fred Lynn, but I don’t understand the unbridled optimism this board has for Benintendi. He’s fine, often good, but mostly because of his high floor.

Regardless, this seems like a fine move because it probably shaves a couple mil off next year’s AAV, and/or makes him easier to trade.
Beni's a nice player, but Fred Lynn he ain't - Freddie was ROY, MVP, an all-star and won a GG in his first season

Edit - to be fair, that isn't a reasonable comp for any young player
 

Al Zarilla

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I sat near 3rd base in Oakland for games with Milwaukee and the Sox this year. Besides Yellich, he had the sweetest swing I saw by a lefthander in the 2 games. I'm still a believer.
Joe Panik has a really nice swing (but not as nice as Beni’s) and Panik looked like a really good hitter for the Giants for a couple or three years, but just signed a minor league deal with Toronto. Pretty swings are a nice to have don’t mean a great deal. Still, go Andrew.
 

nvalvo

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Joe Panik has a really nice swing (but not as nice as Beni’s) and Panik looked like a really good hitter for the Giants for a couple or three years, but just signed a minor league deal with Toronto. Pretty swings are a nice to have don’t mean a great deal. Still, go Andrew.
Other than contact skills, why are these two players comparable? Benintendi has 60 points of career SLG on Panik, and a much better walk rate. Panik has had one offensive season better than Benintendi's worst season.

I guess they both hit around .270.
 

Al Zarilla

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Other than contact skills, why are these two players comparable? Benintendi has 60 points of career SLG on Panik, and a much better walk rate. Panik has had one offensive season better than Benintendi's worst season.

I guess they both hit around .270.
Just that nice swings don’t mean much.
 

Savin Hillbilly

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The wrong side of the bridge....
Other than contact skills, why are these two players comparable? Benintendi has 60 points of career SLG on Panik, and a much better walk rate. Panik has had one offensive season better than Benintendi's worst season.

I guess they both hit around .270.
The point was not that Panik and Benintendi are good comps--in fact, as I understood it, closer to the opposite. The point was that a nice-looking swing doesn't necessarily tell you anything about what the player is actually able to accomplish with it.

EDIT: Or, what AZ said in fewer words.

I seem to remember people raving about Lars Anderson's sweet swing, too. Not to say that Benintendi is going to be a bust like Anderson -- he's already shown that he can be a good, productive major league hitter -- but again, a nice-looking swing and $2.50 will buy you a large regular at DD's.
 

sodenj5

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He bulked up too much.
I feel like this is probably pretty accurate. In college, Benny was surprisingly productive despite his size and build. He bulked up and probably lost some of his twitch and probably lost his mechanics along the way.

If you google “Andrew Benintendi Swing” you’ll see a bunch of articles pop up from different times regarding Benny tweaking his swing. His latest change was late last year eliminating the leg kick and just trying to be quick to the ball.

He still has plenty of time to figure it out, but a peak Benintendi season would go a long way in helping to replace Mookie’s production.