Cozart as a third baseman? Hey, if a trade brings Benintendi back to Cincy . . .

He's one of a whopping 23 natives of the Queen City who've played for the BoSox.

Benintendi (@asben16) is a bad young man (in a good way).

The 23-year-old rookie skipped Class AAA ball after splitting last season between Boston’s high Class A and AA teams -- hitting .295 and .341 for Portland and Salem, respectively -- and hit .295 in 34 games for Boston.

He’s now hitting .269 with 12 home runs and 59 RBI for the Red Sox, and judging from what he told the Providence (R.I.) Journal, he wouldn’t mind a homecoming.

“I was a huge Reds fan,” Benintendi said. “[Ken] Griffey Jr. was my favorite player. It only takes about 10 minutes to get from my house to the ballpark, so we went to a lot of games over the years.

“I even remember going to Riverfront Stadium once, vaguely remember standing in the on-deck circle and looking around.”

It’s not often that a team in the playoff chase will trade away a Major Leaguer in trying to bolster it’s roster, as they usually send minor leaguers, but Benintendi still counts as a “prospect” as he’s played in just 124 MLB games.

He’s apparently already crafty beyond his years.