Newly acquired Yankee Benintendi plans to get vaccinated

The Kansas City Royals traded unvaccinated left fielder Andrew Benintendi to the New York Yankees. Jay Biggerstaff-USA TODAY Sports

Newly acquired All-Star OF Andrew Benintendi expected to get vaccinated following trade to Yankees

By Victor Barbosa | Last updated 7/28/22

The New York Yankees made the first big move in the final days leading up to next Tuesday's trade deadline, landing former Kansas City Royals All-Star outfielder Andrew Benintendi.

Despite his huge first half this season, "Benny's" trade candidacy had been a hot topic in recent weeks due to his unvaccinated status against COVID-19. Canada requires international travelers to be vaccinated in order to enter the country, which has led to scores of MLB players from numerous teams being unavailable when they face the Blue Jays on the road.

In fact, when Kansas City squared off against Toronto north of the border for the first time in 2022 just a couple of weeks ago, Benintendi was one of 10 unvaccinated players on the roster to be placed on the restricted list. The Yankees still have six more road games against the Blue Jays during the regular season, but according to USA Today's Bob Nightengale, the team's new pickup is having a change of heart regarding the vaccine after the trade.

All-Star outfielder Andrew Benintendi plans to get vaccinated after being traded to the #Yankees. He
recently informed #Royals officials of his decision, which was conveyed to several teams before the trade.
— Bob Nightengale (@BNightengale) July 28, 2022

It was reported two weeks ago that New York was "unlikely" to pursue Benintendi due to his vaccination status. Last week, however, there was an update to the situation when MLB.com's Mark Feinsand reported that multiple AL East teams were still interested in the 28-year-old despite him being unvaccinated.

At the time of the trade, Benintendi led Kansas City in batting average (career-high .320), on-base percentage (career-high .387), OPS (.785), hits (111) and walks (39).

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