Royals Rumors: Ian Kennedy could be nice addition to Brewers bullpen
Royals rumors might not be as plentiful as fans had hoped this summer, as the trade pieces simply aren’t performing all that well. One exception to that sentence is reliever Ian Kennedy, who would do well in Milwaukee.
Really the only thing holding the Kansas City Royals back when it comes to trading Ian Kennedy at the deadline is his salary. The organization gifted him with the second largest contract in team history prior to the 2016 season and other teams aren’t going to be interested in taking on that ugly contract.
Kennedy signed a five-year deal worth $70 million after the KC Royals won the World Series in 2015. The hope was that Kennedy could become a second or third starter in the rotation and his ability to eat innings was one the Royals hoped would carry on.
Instead, Kennedy was a disappointment in the rotation through the first three years of his deal, and this year the Royals made the decision to relocate him to the bullpen. It hasn’t been a bad decision by any means, as Kennedy has found new life as a reliever.
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In the first half of the season, Kennedy pitched 35 innings to the tune of a 3.60 ERA and 1.28 WHIP. Most noticeably, and what likely will attract teams to potentially trading for Kennedy, are the 12 saves he’s notched through 35 appearances.
Teams covet strong relievers when October rolls around and Ian Kennedy has, without question, been the best reliever in the Royals bullpen through the halfway point of the 2019 season.
One potential landing spot for Ian Kennedy on the trade market could be the Milwaukee Brewers.
While no real traction has formed between these two, David Gibson of Brew Crew Ball discussed his Milwaukee Brewers potentially targeting Ian Kennedy prior to the trade deadline.
Gibson goes into detail about how the Royals moved Kennedy to the bullpen and about the ugly contract they awarded him with three years ago. That deal is one of Gibson’s talking points, who writes,
"The bad news is the contract amount is cost prohibitive for Milwaukee, and allows bigger market teams the advantage of taking on salary as opposed to giving up higher end prospects to get the Royal’s closer. Everything depends on what Kansas City values most, salary dumping or prospect return."
The Brewers could use some help in the bullpen. Their unit itself isn’t terrible, ranking 13th in the league in ERA with their average ERA at 4.37. That being said, it’s not the shutdown group it was in 2018 that helped get the Brew Crew to Game 7 of the NLCS, and Kennedy would be a welcomed addition in Milwaukee for sure.
Honestly – If the Royals are really wanting to get that contract off the books, they might be willing to eat quite a bit of Kennedy’s remaining salary. If the Brewers are willing to give up a decent prospect or two for the next year and a half of Kennedy’s current deal, that should be something the Royals pounce on.
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There haven’t been many Royals rumors floating around at this point, but a lot of that is in part to the team being so bad and no one really standing out as a trade piece.
What do you think about the Brewers as a potential trade partner for Ian Kennedy? Could you see this going down or will Kennedy likely be a Royal still when the 2020 season rolls around?