Houston Astros
In the midst of their dynasty run after reaching their fourth World Series appearance in six seasons, the Astros are built to contend for years to come. There’s no room for debate there with now six consecutive trips to the ALCS.
Adding Benintendi to Houston’s already dominant roster could be beneficial for a few reasons.
For one, where Benintendi lacks power, the Astros more than make up for it with sluggers such as Yordan Alvarez, Kyle Tucker and Jose Altuve. Speaking of Alvarez, who crushed a career-high 37 home runs on the season, a signing of Benintendi would allow the 25-year-old power bat to focus solely offensively, serving as the Astros designated hitter full-time. Last season, Alvarez made 56 appearances in the outfield.
Then there’s the uncertainty of Michael Brantley, who remains under recovery after suffering a season-ending shoulder injury. Brantley, 35, has spent the last four years in Houston but is scheduled to enter the market as an unrestricted free agent in 2023. Perhaps Houston passes on a re-up with Brantley as a cost-efficient move, shifts Alvarez to the designated hitter spot, and adds Benintendi for a corner outfielder role.
Cleveland Guardians
After clinching the AL Central division with flying colors last season, the Guardians came up short, yet again, against the Yankees in the ALDS best-of-five playoff round.
Aside from star player Jose Ramirez, the Guardians lineup is lackluster across the board. There was little to no stability in Cleveland’s outfield, which totaled 22 home runs, split between four outfielders with five others not going deep a single time. Center fielder Myles Straw, who led the outfield with 152 games played, only batted .221 with 32 RBIs and served as one of the Guardians outfielders to go homer-less despite getting 535 at-bats.
Benintendi hit for a better average than any other Guardians outfielder aside from Will Brennan who hit .357 but only played 11 total games.
If the Guardians front office has any intentions of getting over the hump and returning to the World Series for the first time since 2016, they’ll certainly consider repairing their lackluster outfielder.