Philadelphia Phillies: Reliever Ian Kennedy a solid bounce-back candidate?

RHP Ian Kennedy could help the Philadelphia Phillies bullpen for cheap.

Once hailed as one of the better starting pitchers in the MLB, right-hander Ian Kennedy has had an interesting past few seasons. He signed a monster five-year/$70 million contract with the Kansas City Royals back in 2016, but failed to ever really live up to it. He finished his Royals tenure with a 4.48 ERA, and ultimately found himself a member of the team’s bullpen, as opposed to the starting rotation. Now a free agent, he’s a name that the Philadelphia Phillies could/should be interested in.

Kennedy has been in the major leagues for 14 seasons now, playing for a variety of different teams. He’s had stints with the Yankees, Diamondbacks, Padres, and Royals, with his best season coming in 2011 with Arizona – where he posted a MLB best .840 win percentage while finishing fourth in the Cy Young voting.

Kennedy just turned 35 years old, so it’s obviously unreasonable to expect him to pitch at the level that he did in Arizona, but there’s reason to believe that he still has some underrated value to him. The righty was moved to Kansas City’s bullpen to start the 2019 season after back-to-back disappointing years, and the move actually ended up helping him pretty substantially.

More from Section 215

• 4 Eagles on the Bubble Who Have Clinched Their 53-Man Roster Spots
• Best Pennsylvania Sportsbook Promos: Win $650 GUARANTEED Bonus PLUS $100 off NFL Sunday Ticket
• 3 Punters the Eagles Must Target to Replace Arryn Siposs
• Cowboys Trey Lance Trade Proves How Screwed They Are With Dak Prescott
• Devon Allen Took Britain Covey’s Job on Eagles

He ended up pitching 63.1 innings out of the ‘pen in 2019, finishing 51 games and recording 30 saves. His 10.4 K/9 rate was actually the best of his major league career, and his 3.41 ERA was the lowest he’d posted since his before mentioned 2011 campaign. Needless to say, the move to a relief-oriented did wonders for Kennedy.

The veteran right-hander didn’t experience the same level of success as a reliever in 2020, appearing in 14 games while recording a 9.00 ERA. With 2020 being such a small sample size, it’s hard to put a ton of stock into these numbers though, especially considering how well Kennedy pitched out of the bullpen in 2020.

Even with Kennedy’s rough 2020 and his rising age, there’s some genuine logic to thinking that he’s still got some left in the tank moving forward. He showed serious potential as a closer in 2019, and that’s obviously something that the Philadelphia Phillies are in the market for currently. Both Dave Dombroski and Joe Girardi have specifically highlighted the need to add multiple relievers this offseason, with the only potential roadblock being owner John Middleton’s desire to shed salary.

Considering the fact that Kennedy’s projected salary (according to Spotrac) is $1.67 million, it’s pretty safe to say that he aligns with what the Phillies should be looking for right now; an affordable arm who could have a solid bounce-back season in 2021.

Ultimately speaking, Kennedy would just be one cog in the machine. He’s not some sort of lockdown closer that the fans have been begging for, but he’s a veteran arm who could come in and settle things down a bit, at least for the 2021 season. If the Phillies are truly pressed for cash, and they can’t bring in anyone else to help out the ‘pen, then Kennedy’s previous experience as a closer would come in handy as well. Regardless, Kennedy’s strong 2019 and cheap asking price is just enough for me to highlight him as a potential free agent addition this winter.