As reported earlier today, the Kansas City Royals re-signed Alex Gordon to a four-year, $72 million contract. An announcement is expected later on, but the Royals won't be wasting any time in between. The latest rumors find they're pursuing starting pitching after inking Gordon.
Kansas City reportedly has "strong interest" in free agent starter Ian Kennedy, according to Jon Heyman, and the club is "expected to make a push" after signing Gordon. FOX Sports' Ken Rosenthal noted that Gordon's salary for 2016 is lower than his other three years in order to give the Royals room to make moves for the upcoming season.
Heyman added earlier today that the Royals also had fellow starters Wei-Yin Chen and Yovani Gallardo on their radar.
The market for Kennedy and Chen has been fairly quiet, but Gallardo has been garnering interest from the Royals, Orioles and Astros for quite some time. All three starters have draft-pick compensation tied to them, so the Royals would have to give up a first-rounder if they sign one of them.
Based on rumors, reports and predictions, it seems as if Kennedy and Gallardo are the best financial fits for the Royals due to their payroll restrictions. Check out these contract predictions from Heyman, ESPN's Jim Bowden and Tim Dierkes of MLBTradeRumors.com:
Kennedy
Heyman - four years, $52 million
Bowden - three years, $42 million
Dierkes - four years, $52 million
Gallardo
Heyman - five years, $75 million
Bowden - four years, $56 million
Dierkes - four years, $52 million
Chen
Heyman - five years, $80 million
Bowden - four years, $56 million
Dierkes - five years, $80 million
There seems to be an overwhelming consensus on Kennedy, which is perhaps why the Royals are the most interested in him. Gallardo comes in next as Bowden and Dierkes believe he'll be in the $50 million range.
Whatever the case, Kansas City clearly needs a starter since their rotation ranked 22nd in the MLB with a 4.34 ERA in 2015. The team can't afford to have that unit perform at a mediocre level because chances are they won't be as fortunate in 2016. The Royals were one of the best hitting clubs in baseball, but it's hard to see them replicating their 2015 performance again with an even weaker pitching staff following the departure of Johnny Cueto.
Look for the Royals to add some more depth to that aspect of the roster and improve their 2015 numbers.