UPDATE:
Ian Kennedy breakdown: 7.5M in '16, 13.5M in '17, 16M in '18, 16.5M in '19, 16.5M in '20. $70M guarantee. #royals
— Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) January 27, 2016
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The Kansas City Royals continue to spend this offseason despite their status as a small market team. The latest rumors suggest the team has agreed to terms with starter Ian Kennedy.
Jon Heyman is reporting the Royals and Kennedy have agreed to a five-year, $70 million contract. FOX Sports' Ken Rosenthal has confirmed the deal and adds Kennedy will get an opt-out clause after the first two seasons.
Once the Royals make an official announcement, they'll have to surrender their first-round pick in the 2016 MLB Draft to the San Diego Padres since Kennedy rejected their qualifying offer in December.
On Friday rumors indicated the Royals and Kennedy were progressing toward a deal after the two sides had been linked to one another throughout the offseason. The right-hander had a lackluster 2015 campaign (9-15, 4.28 ERA), but his 9.3 strikeouts per nine innings and 3.35 strikeout-to-walk ratio certainly helped his case.
MLB experts predicted Kennedy would land a three- to four-year contract between $42-$52 million, but his agent, Scott Boras, once again worked his magic to get another one of his clients paid. Kennedy, 31, will earn an average annual salary of $14 million.
In eight MLB seasons as a full-time starter (making at least 20 starts), the veteran has only logged one season with an ERA under 3.63. His best campaign came in 2011 with the Arizona Diamondbacks when he finished 21-4 with a 2.88 ERA, 1.09 WHIP and 198 strikeouts in 33 starts (222 innings). He finished fourth in the NL Cy Young voting.
Kansas City was also interested in starters Scott Kazmir, Wei-Yin Chen and Yovani Gallardo, but Kazmir and Chen already signed and Gallardo is garnering interest from other MLB clubs such as the Orioles, Blue Jays, Astros and others.
Reports have also suggested the Royals think Kennedy can excel at Kauffman Stadium given it's a pitcher's ballpark, in addition to the fact he'll have one of the best defenses in the MLB behind him.
Kennedy will join a rotation that consists of Edinson Volquez, Yordano Ventura, Kris Medlen, Danny Duffy and Chris Young. The team obviously won't open the season with six starters, so it's likely Medlen, Duffy or Young starts off 2016 in the bullpen.
With Kennedy getting an opt-out clause after two years, the Royals are looking at a potential purge after the 2017 season. Rosenthal pointed out Kennedy, Eric Hosmer, Mike Moustakas, Wade Davis, Alcides Escobar and Lorenzo Cain can hit free agency after 2017. I know Royals fans don't want to think about that, but the reality is that they may have two more seasons to cash in on another World Series.
Stay tuned for an official announcement on Kennedy.
