KCKingdom
Fansided

KC Royals: Ian Kennedy and the Win-Now Royals

By Mark Kanter

Jun 13, 2015; San Diego, CA, USA; San Diego Padres starting pitcher Ian Kennedy (22) pitches during the first inning against the Los Angeles Dodgers at Petco Park. Mandatory Credit: Jake Roth-USA TODAY Sports
Jun 13, 2015; San Diego, CA, USA; San Diego Padres starting pitcher Ian Kennedy (22) pitches during the first inning against the Los Angeles Dodgers at Petco Park. Mandatory Credit: Jake Roth-USA TODAY Sports /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
4 of 5
Next
Kansas City Royals owner David Glass (left) with general manager Dayton Moore. Mandatory Credit: John Rieger-USA TODAY Sports
Kansas City Royals owner David Glass (left) with general manager Dayton Moore. Mandatory Credit: John Rieger-USA TODAY Sports /

The Unknown

Before we get too excited, there’s plenty to be concerned about with this contract. There’s the issue of the opt-out, which has become more and more commonplace, and not just with the ace-level talent of David Price and Johnny Cueto, but with Kennedy-comparables like Wei-Yin Chen and Mike Leake. Best-case scenarios with these contracts are a bit counter-intuitive, because ideally Kennedy pitches so well that he leaves after two years.

You might think that in those situations the team would want the guy to stay, but he’s going to be getting older, and you never know what’s to come. Take the WAR and run, if you will. And while it does bother me that the Royals could be paying $14 million to what could be mostly an innings-eater for those final three years, that’s still less than this year’s universal qualifying offer ($15.8 million).

More from Kansas City Royals

But it’s not just what you’re paying Kennedy – there’s the opportunity cost of losing a first-round draft pick as well.  The Royals were set to have the 24th pick in the 2016 draft, and while it’s further down the board than they’re used to, losing anything that early on hurts.

Just for the fun of it, let’s take a look at past 24th overall picks.  The most notable in the “recent” past are probably Chad Billingsley and Joe Blanton, in 2003 and 2002, but beyond that we have to go all the way back to 1990 and former Royal (!) Rondell White for someone notable.

The draft’s a crapshoot, we know that. Hey, 25th overall picks have included Mike Trout, Matt Garza, Matt Cain, Mike MacDougal, Chuck Knoblaugh, and of course Buddy Biancalana.

So, it hurts, but it’s probably not a game-changer, especially when the team could end up with half a dozen supplemental picks after 2017.  Not to mention the couple million they will save in avoiding the signing bonus.

Next: Win Now

Home/Kansas City Royals