Coming off a World Series championship, the Kansas City Royals added another veteran to their rotation, signing free-agent right-hander Ian Kennedy to a five, year-$70 million deal.
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Jon Heyman of MLB Network passed along word the sides had reached an agreement, and Fox Sports’ Ken Rosenthal confirmed the report.
The person spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity Saturday because the deal will not be finalized until the 31-year-old Kennedy passes a physical.
Kennedy, 31, was 9-15 with a 4.28 ERA for the Padres last season. Eiland helped develop Ian Kennedy in the New York Yankees system, and was his pitching coach in 2008-09 with the Yankees.
Since 2013, Kennedy has a 4.25 ERA and a 4.06 FIP in 550.2 IP, with an 84 ERA+ and a -0.5 bWAR.
Granted, Kennedy was still a young pup in ’08 and was still learning how to pitch at the Major League level.
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While still a member of the Yankees, Kennedy was billed as one of the most heralded pitching prospects in the game, but he never got a real opportunity to stick with NY. The only problem is how much these contracts to lower and middle tier players raises the rate of superstar players that actually deserve the big bucks. The first billion? Don’t ask Kennedy.
