Royals Rumors: Players most likely to be traded at 2019 deadline

IAN KENNEDY

A year ago, the notion of trading Ian Kennedy at the trade deadline would have been laughable, but that’s not the case in 2019. Kennedy has found new life as a reliever and his abilities out of the bullpen could land him a chance to pitch for a contender this year and maybe next year as well.

The biggest issue with Kennedy is that ugly contract the Royals signed him to three years ago. He’s signed through the end of the 2020 season, so if a team were to trade for Kennedy, the Royals would likely have to eat a good portion of his remaining salary.

Kennedy is going to attract teams needing bullpen help. He’s posting a 3.38 ERA and 1.21 WHIP with 32 innings under his belt while also notching ten saves. Simply put – A team might give up a nice prospect or two in exchange for the final year and a half of Kennedy’s contract.

If the Royals are willing to take on some of Kennedy’s salary, they can probably trade him to a contender and maybe his contract won’t look nearly as bad down the road if the team can get a few decent prospects out of it. That’s a big maybe though.