Red Sox manager Alex Cora had an interesting reaction to the Wednesday trade that saw the rival Yankees land former Boston outfielder Andrew Benintendi.

“For the person, I’m very happy. For the player, we’ll leave it at that,” Cora told reporters on Thursday, via MassLive.com.

Cora had been anticipating a “weird” reunion with Benintendi after he was traded to the Royals before the 2021 season. The All-Star outfielder, however, missed Kansas City’s series against Boston due to a rib injury.

“It was going to be weird anyways with Kansas City,” said Cora, who managed Benintendi in Boston when the team won the World Series in 2018.

“We haven’t played him since he got traded.”

Cora and Benintendi will meet next month when the Red Sox host the Yankees at Fenway Park for a three-game series starting Aug. 12. Cora went on to compliment Benintendi’s on-field work and praised the 28-year-old for improving his game over time.

“Good for him. He worked hard the last two years to make adjustments and get back to the hitter everybody envisioned in the past: .300 hitter who will get on base and is a good base runner. Defensively, he’s been amazing in Kansas City,” Cora said.

The Yankees welcomed Benintendi to the Bronx in a tweet on Wednesday after they sent three minor-league pitchers — TJ Sikkema, Beck Way, and Chandler Champlain — to Kansas City to seal the deal.

Benintendi — who went 0-for-4 with a strikeout in his Yankees debut on Thursday — is poised to add to an already stacked Yankees team. He is currently hitting .320.

Benintendi was drafted by the Red Sox in 2015 and made his big-league debut for Boston a year later. He was a crucial part of the team’s World Series run in 2018 and started 13 of 14 postseason games in left field.

Benintendi hit .294 with 20 home runs and 112 RBIs in 226 games over the past two seasons in Kansas City. He won the Gold Glove in 2021 and made the All-Star team in 2022.