Red Sox chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom did not draft Andrew Benintendi. He had no emotional investment in the player. What he saw were declining metrics on Benintendi. He was getting slower. He was striking out more.
What he saw in Franchy Cordero were metrics to dream on. He hits the ball hard. He runs fast.
The three-way trade among the Red Sox, Royals and Mets is, at its core, a swap of 26-year-old left-handed hitting outfielders. That the Royals preferred Benintendi and the Red Sox preferred Cordero is a reflection of the ethos of each team.