The Yankees had a scout in Chicago to watch last night’s start by Ian Kennedy, tweets Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports, but acquiring him might not be an easy task. Jon Heyman of CBS Sports reports that the Padres would need to be overwhelmed to move the 29-year-old right-hander.
The Padres bought low on Kennedy at least season’s trade deadline — acquiring him for lefty Joe Thatcher, minor league right-hander Matt Stites and a Competitive Balance draft pick (Round B) — and it proved to be a shrewd move. In 135 1/3 innings for the Friars this season, he’s posted a 3.66 ERA (3.10 FIP) with 9.5 K/9, 2.8 BB.9 and a career-best 42.3 percent ground-ball rate. He’s affordable from a financial standpoint, as he’s earning $6.1MM this year after his second trip through arbitration this past offseason.
Kennedy is controlled through the 2015 season, and as such he could also be marketed in trades this offseason (once San Diego has a new GM in place), or the team could look to extend him as well. He serves as part of a nice trio atop the Padres’ rotation, alongside ace Andrew Cashner and breakout righty Tyson Ross. As such, it’s not surprising to hear that San Diego doesn’t feel any real urgency to move him.
The same hesitancy applies to right-hander Joaquin Benoit, Heyman adds, as the Padres “aren’t resigned” to dealing their new closer (since Huston Street was traded). Benoit is owed $8MM both this season and next, and he’s performing exceptionally well. Detroit was linked to Benoit, but they may be out of that market after landing Joakim Soria. The Pirates and Indians have also shown interest in Benoit, Heyman adds (Cleveland showed interest in Benoit this past offseason as well).
The last remaining Padre who appears likely to be traded is outfielder Chris Denorfia, Heyman writes. The 34-year-old is hitting just .238/.292/.319, but he’s displayed solid defense in right field (UZR and DRS have long liked his work on the outfield corners), and he’s a .299/.366/.443 hitter against lefties.
Right now, the Yankees need a bat more than a SP. Even Cashman said (according to Michael Kay) that if he had to make a big move and could only get 1 or the other (batter or pitcher), he’d easily choose the batter
Yankees SP has been one of the best in baseball in July. Fewest BB’s allowed, 2nd best GB%, 6th in ERA, 5th in xFIP.
Pitching might be easier to come by. What sort of impact bats are available? I suppose they could try for Rios, but that’s not a great fix.
Marlon Byrd is who I think they should get. He actually has a higher OPS than anyone on the Yankees (last I checked).
Not a bad idea I guess. I usually look over him as an “impact bat,” but his numbers have been consistent.
I heard the interview as well, but you can’t honestly believe that those stats for the pitchers are sustainable. If I had to pick one I would pick the starting pitcher. Unless the Yankees are bringing in a real impact bat (Tulo/Stanton type) which is highly unlikely, then the offense is still going to be lean heavily on McCann/Beltran/Teixiera/Headley. Those guys need to hit regardless or the Yankees are screwed. Bring in a pitcher (arguably they need two).
I never said their pitching was sustainable, but the Yankees bats have been unsustainable the whole year. They are winning games and scoring less than 4 runs per game because their SP and late relievers have been effective all month. They have the best record in baseball in 1 run and 2 run games last I heard.
I think it’s fairly obvious a good bat will help this team out Right Now than a SP. The only SP I have concerns about is Whitley even though he threw 6 shutout innings against Texas.
But like I said unless they are going out to get a true impact bat it really isn’t going to make a difference. McCann and Beltran need to hit, they aren’t 1 year deals, they are cogs that are there to anchor the offense for years to come.If the playoffs started today and the Yankees were in it the rotation for games 1, 2, and 3 would be Kuroda, McCarthy, and Phelps. Now tell me you think the Yankees need a bat more than a pitcher. You don’t know if Tanaka is coming back and Pineda cannot be counted on because of health reason. Whitely is a starter for the first time in his career and is going to have a innings limit, Kuroda has faded the 2nd half the last 2 years. The Yankees needed another starter BEFORE Tanaka got hurt. They are in desperate need of a starting pitcher regardless of how they pitched thus far,
Need to make the playoffs first. This team needs a bat more than a SP RIGHT NOW as I said. I’m not even thinking about the postseason. This isn’t a playoff team right now and the reason they aren’t is because of their struggling offense. You’re looking too far ahead.
Agree to disagree but it is not looking too far ahead, it is having faith that Beltran and McCann can turn things around vs actually believing that the no name guys in the rotation (Whitley and Greene) can keep up what they are doing. Basically believing in the guys with track records in the majors vs the guys who don’t. The team has lost 4/5 of their opening day rotation and 3 of them are probably done for the year and beyond. A starting pitcher is what they need.
“it is having faith that Beltran and McCann can turn things around ”
It is always good to have faith, but what if Beltran is finished and he very well may be given his age, his stats this season, and of course, his injury? Similar to Soriano and the younger Ryan Howard who the Phillies may dump soon.
That is always true but he is signed for another 2 years after this they aren’t just going to release him especially since he has shown the bone spur has been a big issue. If someone in the Yankees rotation gets hurt now, who is the replacement? Stretch out Adam Warren or insert David Huff or Chris Capuano into the rotation? That is how little starting pitching depth there is right now in the organization. I agree the offense has been putrid, but they have these guys under contract for multiple years, so it really doesn’t matter who they go out and it (unless like I said if it is a real difference maker) the offense will lie on those players. Marlon Byrd will help but he isn’t capable of carrying the offense by himself. That’s why I think a SP is the thing the Yankees need the most. There are starters out there that can anchor the staff, I just don’t know if there are any real difference makers offensive wise that are actually available.
I don’t disagree there. The SP depth is very very thin.
I guess it will all depend upon on how one defines ‘overwhelmed’!
I will be surprised if the Padres deal Benoit or Kennedy before they have their new GM; which should happen in a few weeks at the latest. Having said that, I wouldn’t be surprised to see one, if not both dealt in the off season by the new GM.
Why would you be surprised? They just traded Headley and then before that they traded Street.
Street was lights out, a luxury having a bad year (as a team) and with Benoit under contract (I guess they decided to trade one of them, probably the one that netted them a better return).
Headley is a FA after the season, so it’s better to get 2 prospects than nothing.
Why “surprised”? Because both, Benoit and Kennedy don’t need to be traded. Benoit is under contract for 2015 and Kennedy is still arbitration elegible. There’s no need to rush. You could give that responsibility to your new GM.
Because there was no need to keep Headley or Street. Kennedy and Benoit under contract. There’s no rush. And the Padres would prefer to have their new GM move potential bigger chips.
Street is under contract too, and how do you expect Benoit to get a bigger return than Street?
Option. And I don’t necessarily. The only way you move him without the gm that will oversee the future of the organization is by being overwhelmed.
Easily an option that would be picked up by any team in baseball if he played for them.
I am conveying the Padres stance. Not expecting more for Street than Benoit.
I wouldn’t be surprised to see Hahn and Despaigne supplant the lefties in the Padres rotation, but they’ll both be innings limited, and Cashner is always liable to spend time on the DL. Kennedy isn’t a luxury then, but insurance. Benoit is actually making $6 million this year, $8 million in 2015 and an $8 million option for 2016.
Maybe they should hold him if they need to be “overwhelmed”. He’s solid, but except for one season he’s never approached ace.
Kennedy isn’t an ace, but he is a low end 2 or very good 3. He is similar to a Matt Garza or Homer Bailey. The Cubs got a very nice return for half a season of Garza and the Reds paid a lot of money after Bailey had one decent year and one good year. One and half years of Ian Kennedy for $13MM or so should command a very nice return. If not, the Padres hang on and have a solid top 3 of their rotation for next year.
So padres president said he would keep H. Street – a week later he was gone to LAA….Then they said they would keep headley and take the pick next year…Week later gone to NYY….Guess it’s protocol for team’s to say this to drive prices up…Expect to see Kennedy gone before his next start….
Unless you have dinner regularly with Padres owner, please tell us where you read that they would keep Street and Headley? Both knew and there are a lot of interviews that they were trade candidates. It would be foolish to offer Headley to stay and “expect” to get a pick. He’s in a bad year offensively speaking and probably he would’ve accepted the qualifying offer (like 15M).
He’s probably referencing Mike Dee, the CEO not owner. On July 2, he said “I don’t anticipate that Huston will be wearing any other type of uniform this season.”
Of course, lots of owners/CEOs say lots of mindless things about upcoming player personnel decisions which they don’t mean at all, so it wasn’t worth putting much stock in it.
Or, maybe Dee was just speaking toward the unlikelihood that any new fabrics will be introduced to MLB uniforms before the end of the season…
Yes, it was padre president…..That was my point/opinion that they say those things to drive the price up of their players….Both trades came within days after they made those kind of statements…..
Well then they will keep waiting as Kennedy,while pretty good, is far from an overwhelming talent.
Forget Kennedy. Dodgers need help, trade for Matt Kemp. Give them Murphy or sanchez and another piece and be done with it.
Who would take the declining Kemp and his enormous contract? I really hope the Yankees don’t consider it, even though they are in need of a RH OFer, which is why I mentioned Marlon Byrd would be a good fit.
The Dodgers need to get Joc Pederson up. Or just trade him.
Well, then I guess forget about him going to the O’s. Or probably a lot of other teams. He’s a decent pitcher and is having a good year, but no way is anyone going to “overwhelm” them with talent for Kennedy.
Since 2011, here are Ian Kennedy’s stats compared to Jon Lester and Homer Bailey.
Kennedy: Age-29, IP-747, ERA-3.83, FIP-3.76, xFIP-3.81
Lester: Age-30, IP-747.1, ERA-3.75, FIP-3.61, xFIP-3.65
Bailey: Age-28, IP-672.2, ERA-3.87, FIP-3.83, xFIP-3.65
Kennedy also still has 1.5 seasons of control for probably around $14MM or so total. Compare that to Bailey who just signed for 6 years at $17.5MM/season and Lester who will make $20MM+/season over 5+ years and his acquisition cost should be high.
Granted. my mistake, sorry about that.
Thanks for clarifying. Anyway… I think it was a good idea to trade Headley. With Street, I’m not so convinced. I would preferred to trade Benoit and keep Street, but since I am just a fan, I cannot decide, but only root for the team.
Have a nice day you both.
Agreed on both…I have some faith in Solarte for some reason…Lee Hamilton mentioned Padres want a package around Starling Marte from PIT….Of course, we can all WANT.. Time will tell – Have a good one as well
Lee Hamilton wouldn’t know Starling Marte from Damaso Marte from Bubba Starling. He barely manages to get his name right most days.
Aaron judge and Severino for Kennedy? That might be a little high. Judge would headline any potential package if I am the Padres.
Yeah that’s a bit too high. If either of them, Judge.
Not enough. Kennedy’s put up #1 #2 numbers this year. Judge and Severino won’t compete with other teams packages. The pirates can put a package around either Glasnow or Meadows and it’s better than any package the Yankees could match. The pirates need to upgrade over Worley and Volquez if they hope to compete.
Glasnow/Meadows/Judge/Severino are all top 100 prospects, how exactly is that package so much better if Judge/Severino are having better seasons?
i would imagine the Padres would look to acquire Judge and Severino and maybe Refnnyder.
What are they supposed to say? I read this to mean, not just a salary dump we don’t have to move either one; unless it is an offer you can’t say no to. Seems like a pretty conservative and responsible stance to be in.
If the new GM can get any semblence of an offense in San Diego next year, a starting staff of Ross, Kennedy, Cashner, Despaigne and Hahn looks pretty formidable. They have some young guys coming up after those 5 too, so if things don’t go right next year, which they probably won’t, they can always deal Kennedy at next years deadline. There is no rush to deal him and the new GM should have a little say in what is is going to be dealing with in the future.
All the more reason to trade for a solid 2/3 starter at a below market rate for a season an a half. If that can help you make and/or make a run in the post season, it could be worth it. Me being biased, of course.