Ian Kennedy may not be the ace he once projected to become, but the Kansas City Royals felt he's good enough to upgrade their rotation, signing him to a five-year, $70 million deal Saturday.
Jon Heyman of MLB Network passed along word the sides had reached an agreement, and Fox Sports' Ken Rosenthal confirmed the report.
Kennedy had been solid if unspectacular for the Padres, finishing the 2014 season 13-13 with a 3.63 ERA, 1.29 WHIP and 207 strikeouts in 201 innings pitched. Last year, he regressed, going 9-15 with a 4.28 ERA, 1.30 WHIP and 174 strikeouts in 168.1 innings.
Though he didn't pitch much in his first three seasons with the Yankees, he's been a steady performer over the past six years, finishing every season with at least 165 innings pitched and 160 strikeouts.
In 2011, he was one of the finest pitchers in baseball for the Arizona Diamondbacks, going 21-4 with a 2.88 ERA, 1.09 WHIP and 198 strikeouts in 222 innings pitched while finishing fourth in the NL Cy Young Award voting.
While that season proved to be an outlier, at the age of 31, he is still capable of being a solid third or fourth option.
Kennedy should slot into the rotation behind Yordano Ventura and Edinson Volquez, at least at the outset. It gives the staff more depth as Kansas City turns its attention toward a repeat World Series bid.
The Royals will need Kennedy more than ever after losing Johnny Cueto in free agency.
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