Kansas City Royals: Ian Kennedy as reliever not crazy idea
The Kansas City Royals are in the midst of their offseason, but one Royal who needs to have a good year is pitcher Ian Kennedy. Could the expensive pitcher at some point be moved to the bullpen?
Last Thursday, Jeffrey Flanagan, who is the MLB.com beat reporter for the Kansas City Royals did a mailbag post. One of the questions asked was who Flanagan predicted to be in the starting rotation.
His answer was what Royals fans would expect. That being Danny Duffy, Jakob Junis, Brad Keller, Ian Kennedy, and Jorge Lopez. Lopez might be the one “surprise” name in there, as the Royals also have Eric Skoglund and Heath Fillmyer who could step into the rotation.
Something Flanagan said after that was worth looking further into though. He mentioned that it wouldn’t shock him to see Ian Kennedy moved to the bullpen at some point and used as a long reliever.
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There’s pros and cons to this scenario, so let’s start with the pros.
For one, Kennedy hasn’t been an electric starter since signing that massive contract prior to the 2016 season. He’s posted an average ERA of 4.49 in his three years as a Royal and that’s just not going to get the job done for what he’s making money wise.
If Kennedy isn’t pitching well as a starter, then he should be moved into a different role. One of the younger guys should get a chance to prove themselves in the rotation should Kennedy once again struggle as a starting pitcher.
Now, let’s look at the cons of Kennedy potentially being a reliever.
Kennedy’s best attribute, and the reason many were okay with the contract back in 2016, was that he had the reputation of being able to eat innings. Last year he had just 119.2 innings under his belt and he’s yet to crack 200 innings since coming to Kansas City.
If he were to be relocated to the bullpen, the one positive attribute Kennedy had coming in would be eliminated. Sure, long relievers can usually get in three or four innings of work if they’re effective, but that’s hardly the seven or eight innings a game that many of us expected from Kennedy when he was brought in.
When push comes to shove, the Kansas City Royals are stuck with Ian Kennedy and his gigantic contract until 2021. That means we have two more seasons of him and if he doesn’t start pulling his weight in the rotation this year, it might be time to move him to the bullpen and let the younger guys, who will be a part of the rebuild, step up and show their worth.
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Would you want the Royals to shift Ian Kennedy over to the bullpen?