What you need to know about new Red Sox outfielder Franchy Cordero

Red Sox baseball team chief Chaim Bloom took a big step on Wednesday by handing outfielder Andrew Benintendi to the Royals in a three-team deal also involving the Mets. In return, Boston received outfielder Franchy Cordero, right-hander Josh Winckowski and three players who will be named later.

Here’s what you need to know about Cordero, 26:

The Dominican Republic native signed with the Padres as an international free agent in November 2011, then made his professional debut in 2012 with the Padres of the Dominican Summer League.

The Padres finally promoted the left-handed batsman to their major league roster in May 2017 when center-back Manuel Margot was injured. He played 30 games before being sent back to Triple A in El Paso. He was recalled in 2018 and has played 40 games.

He appeared in just nine games for the Padres in 2019, then transferred to Kansas City on July 16, 2020.

Cordero has a .236 / .304 / .433 cutoff line with 12 home runs and 36 RBIs in 95 games over four MLB campaigns. He has 110 strikeouts and 28 steps, and is 8 for 11 on stolen base attempts.

When recalled in 2017, Cordero started hot, with 19 hits in his first 17 games, then calmed down with a single hit in 10 games before being sent back to minors. He finished the season with an impressive .326 / .369 / .603 slash line and 17 home runs at Triple A level.

In an injury-ridden 2018 season, Cordero hit .237 with 7 homers and 19 RBIs in 154 home plate appearances for the Padres.

In 2019 he went 5 for 15 in limited action, and with the Royals in 2020 he went 8 for 38 with three doubles and two homers.

At 6-foot-3, 226 pounds, Cordero has impressive power that he showcased when he hit a 489-foot homerun at Chase Field in Arizona in April 2018. He turned out to be the second longest. circuit measured this season. .

He played two games on several circuits in the majors: June 13, 2017 against the Reds and September 23, 2020 against the Cardinals.

He also showed incredible speed and led the minor leagues in treble in 2016 (16) and 2017 (18).

Cordero missed a lot of time with injuries to his quadriceps, groin, wrist and elbow. He started the 2018 season on the disabled roster with a groin injury, was limited to nine games in 2019 due to an elbow injury, and played just 16 games in the shortened 2020 season. due to a wrist problem.

Bloom called these failures “a series of different injuries, many of which appear to be bizarre in character.”

The Red Sox are probably willing to bet on Cordero’s health due to his tantalizing benefits. Few players have the combination of power and speed that has allowed him to lead the minor leagues in treble and complete six seasons with double-digit steals.

That speed helped him become a great defensive outfielder, catching 95% of the balls that hit him in 2017, per mlb.com.

As he strikes at a high pace, Cordero hits the cover of the ball as it makes contact. His 489-foot home run left the stick at 116.3 miles per hour, according to Statcast, and he set a Padres record days later with a line workout that clocked in at 116.5 miles per hour.

The Boy Scouts say he needs to work on his field reconnaissance to become a more consistent hitter, but he clearly has the physical gifts to become a dangerous hitter.

His cousin, Sócrates Brito, played for the Diamondbacks and Blue Jays, and signed a minor league contract with the Yankees this year.