KC Royals: Ian Kennedy and the Win-Now Royals
By Mark Kanter
The other big factor here is that besides Gordon and Kennedy, the Royals payroll is projecting to be minuscule after 2017. This benefits the Royals for two reasons – one, obviously, they can afford to eat a bad contract if necessary, but it also means that even if Kennedy has two average seasons, he might opt to skip town and try his luck with a contender in 2018, even if it means accepting a little less cash down the road.
The Royals were lucky to get Gordon for the price/terms they did, and Ian Kennedy was hopefully the best fit of what was left.
2018 and the next few years after are going to be tough for the Royals – we know that – we just have to hope that Glass stays true to Kansas City and opens his wallet again when the time comes.
I know it’s easy to get caught up in the numbers. $70 million is a lot of money. I mean, it’s the second-largest contract in KC Royals history, and it would be the largest if it was made a month ago.
Immediately after the signing, Rany Jazayerli tweeted that for the money we spent on Kennedy and Joakim Soria, the Royals could’ve signed Jordan Zimmermann. But we can’t think that way – when Zimmerman signed, Gordon was still on the market (heck, so was Soria), and it would’ve been irresponsible to blow the majority of the off-season budget on one pitcher early on in free agency.
The Royals were lucky to get Gordon for the price/terms they did, and Ian Kennedy was hopefully the best fit of what was left. These deals don’t happen in a vacuum; the market develops as it progresses, and the Royals were forced, like every other team, to respond accordingly.
*Can we just pause for a moment and try to comprehend how Jorge de la Rosa will have made over $75 million in career earnings after next season?
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