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Padres Trade Despaigne To Orioles, Announce Rodney Deal

By Steve Adams | February 4, 2016 at 1:25pm CDT

The Orioles and Padres are in agreement on a trade that will send right-hander Odrisamer Despaigne to Baltimore in exchange for minor league right-hander Jean Cosme, tweets Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports. Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com had first reported that Cosme was headed to the O’s in exchange for a pitcher off San Diego’s Major League roster.

San Diego also announced the previously-reported signing of reliever Fernando Rodney. The veteran, late-inning righty needed a 40-man spot, and he’ll take over for the departing Despaigne.

Despaigne, 28, is coming off a tough season with the Padres in which he posted a sky-high 5.80 ERA with 4.9 K/9, 2.3 BB.9 and a 50.5 percent ground-ball rate in 125 1/3 innings. While the ERA is certainly uninspiring, metrics such as FIP, xFIP and SIERA all pegged Despaigne more in the mid-4.00 range, with some of the ERA spike being attributed to an abnormally low number of runners stranded and a spike in his homer-to-flyball ratio. A year prior, Despaigne tossed 96 1/3 innings in his rookie season, compiling a considerably better 3.36 ERA with 6.1 K/9, 3.0 BB/9 and a 52.5 percent ground-ball rate. Despaigne has experience both in the rotation and the bullpen and will give Baltimore another arm for its rotation mix or serve as a candidate to compete for a swingman job out of the bullpen. As Kubatko noted, Despaigne also has minor league options remaining (three of them, to be exact), so he can be sent down to Triple-A and stored at Norfolk as a depth piece in the event that an injury arises.

From the Padres’ vantage point, Despaigne probably became expendable when the team added Carlos Villanueva to serve as a swingman/long reliever. Dennis Lin of the San Diego Union-Tribune points out (on Twitter) that the trade also frees up a spot on the 40-man roster for Fernando Rodney, whose one-year deal with San Diego has yet to be announced. Cosme is a 19-year-old out of Puerto Rico that Baltimore selected in the 17th round of the 2014 draft. He’s posted a 4.73 ERA with 8.7 K/9 against 3.2 BB/9 in 72 1/3 professional innings but did not rank among Baltimore’s Top 10 prospects this offseason, per Baseball America.

Of course, the broader move also ties in with the Rodney signing. He’ll join the Pads on an incentive-laden deal and look to rebound from a tough 2015 season. Soon to turn 39, Rodney’s ratios and results suffered last year. But he may have been somewhat unlucky in the volume of home runs he surrendered, and still brings a 95+ mph heater.

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By Tim Dierkes | February 3, 2016 at 3:20pm CDT

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Braves Among Nine Teams With Interest In Lazarito

By Jeff Todd | February 3, 2016 at 2:55pm CDT

TODAY, 2:50pm: Lazarito and his agents are willing to consider offers that would involve waiting until the next signing period to sign, Sanchez tweets. Certainly, that would appear to open up his potential market to more teams and explain the involvement of so many organizations as he nears a decision.

1:10pm: There are nine total teams “heavily involved” in pursuit of Lazarito, according to Bob Nightengale of USA Today (via Twitter). It’s still unclear precisely which teams are pursuing him beyond the Braves, though the clubs already in the max penalty are certainly a good place to start.

Of course, it’s also not yet entirely apparent what kind of cash outlay and signing timing those unnamed teams would be willing to offer. Paying a significant bonus and tax bill while taking on a two-year signing ban is a big ask at this stage of the year, with camp approaching and the next year’s July 2 prospect period already having developed quite a bit.

YESTERDAY: The Braves are among the teams expected to make a strong push for young Cuban prospect Lazaro Armenteros — better known as Lazarito — according to a report from MLB.com’s Jesse Sanchez. He’ll be eligible to sign on February 10 after being declared a free agent by the league, and Atlanta will see him at a private workout on Saturday.

At just 16 years of age, Lazarito is subject to international signing restrictions. Though he is a raw talent, Sanchez says he’s expected to command a bonus in the range of $15MM to $20MM, if not more.

Clearly, anything close to that would push Atlanta (or any other team) well over its bonus allotment if the signing were to be completed in this July 2 period. Such a move would trigger a two-year ban on $300K+ international signings and a 100% tax on overages.

With the Braves reportedly lining up a massive spend on the signing season set to begin this summer — much-hyped Venezuelan Kevin Maitan is rumored to be the crown jewel — the club would have to do some maneuvering to get things done. Signing Lazarito now would mean punting on the opportunity to add multiple players in the July 2 session to come, though of course it could pursue other additions in this year’s period as numerous Cuban prospects filter into the free agent pool. Alternatively, Atlanta could attempt to convince the prospect and his representatives to hold off on officially striking a deal until the summer, thus rolling the signing into its future international class.

There are other teams involved, Sanchez suggests, though it isn’t clear who else is in pursuit. As he notes, the Dodgers, Giants, Cubs, and Royals stand to begin their own restricted stretches in a few months’ time. Having already triggered the maximum penalties, they could all strike without issue (beyond coughing up the bonus and tax). Only the Angels, Diamondbacks, Rays, Red Sox, and Yankees are frozen out of the market, by virtue of prior budget-busting outlays. The rest of the league would find itself in the same situation as Atlanta — able to spend, if they are willing to sit out the next two signing periods.

Mariners Sign Dae-ho Lee

By Jeff Todd | February 3, 2016 at 11:56am CDT

12:18pm: The Mariners have announced the minor league signing.

11:56am: The deal is done, with a physical already completed and an announcement expected in short order, according to Ryan Divish of the Seattle Times.

10:51am: Korean first baseman Dae-ho Lee has long been rumored to be negotiating with MLB clubs, and it appears that a deal could be in the works with the Mariners. A report from Korean baseball analyst Michael Min (Korean language link) says that Lee is in agreement on a one-year contract with Seattle that could pay him up to $4MM. (Jee-ho Yoo of Yonhap conveys the information in English.)

If something gets finalized, though, it may only be a minor league pact, Bob Dutton of the Tacoma News Tribune suggests (Twitter links). In that scenario, Lee would presumably need to crack the MLB roster out of camp and reach some incentives to maximize the available earnings.

Lee, 33, declined a player option with Japan’s Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks in order to become a free agent and pursue an MLB opportunity. He is said to have been weighing offers from several MLB teams as well as his former employers in Nippon Professional Baseball. Because he is a true free agent with advanced professional experience, there is no posting fee or international spending cap involved in the deal.

After establishing himself in the Korea Baseball Organization, where he starred for the beter part of a decade, Lee moved to Japan for the start of the 2012 campaign. He’s been a steady producer there, generally mixing good on-base ability with a low strikeout rate and solid power. Last year, though, he took things to a new level, hitting 31 home runs and slashing .282/.364/.524 over 584 plate appearances.

It’s important to bear in mind, when weighing Lee’s numbers overseas against those carried by fellow Korean crossovers Jung Ho Kang and Byung-ho Park, that the NPB doesn’t feature the kind of unusually inflated batting lines found in the hitter-friendly KBO. Lee’s ..892 OPS last season was the fourth-best mark in the league. In fact, only eleven players reached the .800 threshold — including familiar names such as Wily Mo Pena, Cuban star Alfredo Despaigne, and Lee’s former teammate Nobuhiro Matsuda, who flirted with his own MLB bid this winter.

Ultimately, Lee is a hard player to peg, but obviously has shown enough with the bat to intrigue. He’s quite sizable and seems unlikely to see the field without a first baseman’s mitt, if he does more than DH. MLBTR’s Zach Links (Twitter link) recently asked a Korean scout for a comp for the veteran slugger. “Maybe Carlos Lee minus some power,” he was told. “It’s tough. He is not typical, that’s for sure.”

For Seattle, that skillset would seem to put the Korean star on track to pair up with Adam Lind in a first base platoon. He could also see time in the DH slot when Nelson Cruz slots in at right field. Regardless, the fit is clear, and Lee would figure to receive a fair number of plate appearances in part-time duty.

Notably, that role had seemed destined to go to former top prospect Jesus Montero, with former big leaguer Gaby Sanchez providing competition in camp. Instead, it seems, Montero may need to compete with Lee to earn his way onto the active roster and remain a significant part of the organization’s plans moving forward.

Twins To Sign Carlos Quentin To Minors Deal

By Jeff Todd | February 2, 2016 at 11:29am CDT

The Twins have agreed to a minor league contract with outfielder Carlos Quentin, according to Jon Heyman (Twitter links). He’ll receive an invitation to MLB camp, per Heyman, and would earn $750K if he makes the MLB roster, Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN tweets. Quentin also picks up a June 1 opt-out opportunity if he hasn’t been added to the roster, per Mike Berardino of the St. Paul Pioneer Press (via Twitter).

It had appeared that the veteran was headed toward retirement, though more recent indications were that he would pursue a return to the majors. His representatives have suggested he could factor in at first base or DH in addition to his usual corner outfield role.

Quentin, 33, was released last winter after he was shipped from the Padres to the Braves as part of the contract balancing equation in the (first) Craig Kimbrel trade. He caught on with the Mariners on a minor league deal, but appeared only briefly at Triple-A Tacoma before calling off his attempt to work back.

We last saw Quentin in the majors in 2014, when he scuffled to a .177/.284/.315 batting line while dealing with a steady progression of injuries. Of course, he’s done much more previously. Over the 2009 through 2013 campaigns, Quentin posted a strong .252/.346/.485 slash. While he’s never rated well as a defender, that robust production shows that the bat has never been much of an issue.

Minnesota certainly has little to lose by giving Quentin a shot at a return, but it’s not immediately clear how he’d fit in the club’s plans. The organization made a fairly significant investment in Byung-ho Park, who also profiles as a defensively-limited, right-handed slugger. And the club seemingly has the corner outfield covered with Miguel Sano (who’ll convert from third base), Eddie Rosario, prospect Max Kepler, and the still-youthful Oswaldo Arcia. First base remains occupied by Joe Mauer, with Park factoring as a part-time stand-in.

There’s always the possibility that Quentin could squeeze onto the roster as a veteran bench piece. But players such as Eduardo Nunez and Danny Santana look to be favorites to grab 25-man spots, given their youth and defensive flexibility for a club that has some questions in center and at short. Both Nunez and Santana are out of options, as is the left-handed-hitting Arcia, who may be facing his final shot in Minnesota.

For what it’s worth, though he hits from the right side, Quentin has actually been somewhat better against opposing righties over his career. If nothing else, he’ll provide a veteran option and some competition for the less-established players currently on hand.

Greg Bird Requires Shoulder Surgery, Will Miss 2016 Season

By Steve Adams | February 1, 2016 at 2:22pm CDT

2:22pm: During an October check-up on Bird’s shoulder, two different doctors recommended against surgery, tweets Chad Jennings of the Journal News. However, the injury flared up in the past 10 days or so, he adds.

1:38pm: Though the season hasn’t even started, the Yankees have already been bitten by the injury bug in notable fashion, as Joel Sherman of the New York Post reports that top prospect Greg Bird will miss the 2016 season due to shoulder surgery (links to Twitter). Bird will undergo the procedure tomorrow for what has been diagnosed as a torn labrum, per Sherman. The Yankees have since confirmed Sherman’s report, announcing that Bird suffered a recurrence of a shoulder injury that he initially sustained in May of 2015 (although, clearly, he did not damage the shoulder to this extent the first time he suffered the injury).

While Bird didn’t necessarily have a clear path to at-bats on the Opening Day roster, he figured to serve, at the very least, as a highly valuable depth piece and perhaps the first line of defense in the event of an injury to either Mark Teixeira or Alex Rodriguez. Teixeira, in particular, was prone to injuries in 2015, which is the reason that Bird was even called upon to make what turned out to be an impressive rookie season. In 178 plate appearances, Bird batted .261/.343/.529 with 11 home runs.

Some might speculate that this makes the Yankees more likely to add a left-handed-hitting first base/DH option, and while that may make sense on a minor league deal, it’s tough to see the team now fitting an additional bat onto its 25-man roster when Bird wasn’t even expected to open the season there. In the event of an injury to Rodriguez, the team could simply move Carlos Beltran to DH and use Brett Gardner, Jacoby Ellsbury and the newly acquired Aaron Hicks in the outfield as well.

DBacks Acquire Jean Segura, Tyler Wagner From Brewers For Chase Anderson, Aaron Hill, Isan Diaz

By | January 30, 2016 at 5:29pm CDT

The Diamondbacks have acquired shortstop Jean Segura and reliever Tyler Wagner from the Brewers in exchange for starting pitcher Chase Anderson, second baseman Aaron Hill, and prospect Isan Diaz, tweets Keith Law of ESPN. The Brewers will also receive $5.5MM to partially cover the $12MM owed to Hill, hears Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic (tweet). The Diamondbacks and Brewers have confirmed the deal.

Segura, soon-to-be 26, was an oft-rumored trade candidate for the rebuilding Brewers. He broke out in 2013 as a 23-year-old with a 3.5 WAR season. He hit a solid .294/.329/.423 with 12 home runs, 44 stolen bases, and league average defense. However, he slumped steeply in the second half of that season, foreshadowing his struggles over the next two campaigns. Since his first full season, Segura has offered replacement level production in 1,141 plate appearances.

In Arizona, Segura will join the defensively-minded Nick Ahmed and Chris Owings. Ahmed is coming off a solid 1.7 WAR season, but his .226/.275/.359 leaves a lot to be desired at the plate. Owings spent most of 2015 at second base where he was expected to return this year. The addition of Segura not only gives the club more depth up the middle, it will give them the opportunity to mix and match offensive and defensive skill sets as needed.

Interestingly, the Angels once included Segura in a package for Zack Greinke (h/t Bill Shaiken of the LA Times). He’ll now have an opportunity to play alongside the ace. Per Bob Nightengale of USA Today (tweet), Segura will start for the DBacks – probably at second base. However, GM Dave Stewart told reporters including Nick Piecoro of Arizona Central Sports (tweet) that Segura would compete for the shortstop job. Segura has three more seasons of club control. He avoided arbitration with Milwaukee earlier this offseason, signing for $2.6MM. He’s a future non-tender candidate if he does not rebound this season.

The trade creates an opportunity for the Brewers to fully evaluate Jonathan Villar before top prospect Orlando Arcia is ready to join the club. GM David Stearns confirmed that Arcia will begin the year in Triple-A. Villar, who the Brewers acquired from the Astros earlier in the offseason for Cy Sneed, has played in parts of three major league seasons. He’s offered replacement level production to date, but he features an intriguing combination of power and speed for a middle infielder.

Wagner, 25, is a starting pitcher prospect. The righty averaged roughly 90 mph with his fastball in a three start debut last season. In the minors, he was said to top out at 95 mph with his sinker. He has a solid command and control profile but lacks big swing-and-miss stuff. The DBacks have plenty of pitching depth so Wagner will likely report to Triple-A or revert to the bullpen – he was a college closer.

On the Brewers end of the haul, Anderson is the jewel of the trade. The 28-year-old is a reliable changeup specialist. In 267 career innings, he has a 4.18 ERA (4.17 FIP) with 7.28 K/9 and 2.70 BB/9. His stuff performed slightly better in 2014 than 2015 as evidenced by superior strikeout and swinging strike rates. As a slightly homer prone fly ball pitcher, he’s not a great fit for power happy Miller Park (the same was true at Chase Field). Anderson comes with five seasons of club control and will be a member of the rotation.

Hill, the veteran of the trade, has declined steadily since a peak season in 2012. Injuries and playing time battles held him to 353 plate appearances last season. He hit just .230/.295/.345. Entering his age 34 season, he’s owed $12MM in the final year of his contract. Per Haudricourt (tweet), Stearns envisions an active role for Hill mentoring the club’s many young middle infielders. He’s an obvious fit as a platoon mate for Scooter Gennett who rarely plays against left-handed pitching.

The Brewers also acquired a high quality prospect in the form of Diaz. Baseball America rated Diaz the ninth best prospect in the Arizona system. 20 in May, Diaz is coming off a strong season in rookie ball in which he was dubbed the MVP of the Pioneer League. He hit .360/.436/.640 with 13 home runs and 12 stolen bases in 312 plate appearances. The former second round pick will remain at shortstop for the time being, although his future home may be farther down the defensive spectrum.

Photos courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Andruw Jones Likely To Retire

By charliewilmoth | January 30, 2016 at 12:46pm CDT

Veteran outfielder Andruw Jones says he will soon announce his retirement, Cory McCartney of FOX Sports South tweets. In November, Jones had reportedly been hoping to sign with an MLB team, but it appears likely he’ll hang up his cleats instead.

It’s been awhile since Jones has played in the Majors, of course — he last appeared in the big leagues with the Yankees in 2012. After that, he played two seasons with Rakuten in Japan. He did not play last season.

The MLB team with which Jones will be most strongly associated, of course, is the Braves, for whom he played from 1996 through 2007, joining Chipper Jones, John Smoltz, Tom Glavine and Greg Maddux in a group of elite players on a long string of highly successful Braves teams. (As Sports Illustrated’s Jay Jaffe tweets, Andruw and Chipper will both be eligible for the Hall of Fame in 2018.)

After emerging as a consensus top prospect in the Braves’ farm system, Andruw debuted with Atlanta at the tender age of 19 and soon became one of baseball’s top outfielders, creating tremendous value with both his outstanding defense and his power. Beginning in 1998, Jones won ten straight Gold Gloves for his work in center field. He also quickly became a serious home run threat, hitting 26 or more homers in nine straight seasons and peaking with a remarkable 51-homer performance in 2005, when he finished second in NL MVP balloting.

After the 2007 season, when he was still just 30, he left Atlanta and began an itinerant phase of his career, playing for the Dodgers, Rangers and White Sox before heading to the Bronx for two seasons. He declined steeply in his early thirties as his ability to hit for average rapidly diminished, although he did hit well in his two seasons in Japan.

Jones finishes his 17-season big-league career with a .254/.337/.486 line, 434 career homers and five All-Star appearances. Via Baseball Reference, his career Defensive WAR of 24.1 ranks 20th all-time. He made upwards of $130MM in his baseball career.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Dodgers To Re-Sign Howie Kendrick

By Jeff Todd | January 29, 2016 at 4:22pm CDT

The Dodgers have reached agreement on a two-year deal with second baseman Howie Kendrick, according to Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports (Twitter links). Kendrick gets a $20MM guarantee over the two years, Jon Heyman tweets.

With the move, Los Angeles will sacrifice its chance to tack on an additional draft selection. Kendrick, 32, turned down a $15.8MM qualifying offer from the club earlier in the offseason. As MLBTR’s Steve Adams explained earlier today, the Dodgers stood to increase their draft pool had Kendrick headed elsewhere.

Instead, the club will add Kendrick right back into a crowded mix of position players. Presumably, he’ll see the bulk of the time at second, displacing an anticipated Enrique Hernandez/Chase Utley platoon. But Hernandez could also spell Corey Seager at short and Joc Pederson in center, while Utley can not only spend time at second but also might fill in for Justin Turner at third. Players such as Micah Johnson, Charlie Culberson, and Alex Guerrero could also feature in the infield mix.

Coming into the winter, MLBTR’s Tim Dierkes had predicted that Kendrick could land $50MM over four years. Clearly, he stands to fall well shy of that after his market failed to develop as anticipated. It’s not difficult to see that market developments played a huge role, along with the qualifying offer.

The older Ben Zobrist hit on a $56MM guarantee, besting his own projection. He didn’t carry draft compensation requirements since he was traded in mid-season. Meanwhile, the younger but also QO-bound Daniel Murphy came closer to his expectations with a three-year, $37.5MM pact. But Kendrick was left without an obvious place as the board began to clear. As Steve Adams and I discussed just yesterday on the MLBTR podcast, even the best apparent landing spots all had complications. Indeed, he’ll ultimately take home a guarantee that barely tops that reached by the less-accomplished Asdrubal Cabrera.

At the end of the day, the acquisition cost was much lower than Los Angeles paid the last time they added Kendrick. The Dodgers sent young lefty Andrew Heaney last year for Kendrick (and his $9.5MM salary). And as the qualifying offer shows, the team was willing to pay him over three-quarters of the total value of his new contract for just one season.

As things shook out, it looks like a nice get for the depth-focused Dodgers. While Kendrick dealt with some injuries late last year, and is certainly not the youngest open market option, he’s been a steadily excellent performer for quite some time. Since taking over full-time duties at second with the Angels back in 2010, Kendrick has carried a sturdy .289/.332/.418 batting line. And he’s rarely varied too far from that production level, making him one of the more reliably above-average hitters in the league.

It’s been a while since Kendrick put up his career best of 18 long balls, but he’s a reasonable bet to approach or exceed double digits in that area. And the same holds in the stolen base department, though he’s more of an average overall baserunner than a plus in that area. It’s tough to judge the defensive component for the respected veteran. Kendrick undoubtedly slipped last year, with roundly negative overall glovework in the eyes of both UZR and DRS. But he’s generally been at least an average defender over his career, and even if his loss of range proves permanent, he is still reliable on more easily-made plays.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Royals Sign Ian Kennedy

By charliewilmoth | January 29, 2016 at 11:40am CDT

11:40am: MLB.com’s Jeffrey Flanagan tweets that if Kennedy does opt out after two years, he receives a $6MM buyout, so he would actually be opting out of three years and $43MM, as opposed to three years and $49MM.

11:17am: After reportedly agreeing to a deal nearly two weeks ago, the Royals announced on Friday that they have signed right-hander Ian Kennedy to a five-year contract. The Scott Boras client will reportedly be guaranteed a total of $70MM and is said to have secured an opt-out clause that would allow him to re-enter the free agent market after the 2017 season. Kennedy’s contract, however, is significantly backloaded; he’ll earn $7.5MM in 2016 and $13.5MM in 2017, meaning he’d have to forgo a guaranteed $49MM from 2018-20 in order to again test free agency (entering his age-33 season).

Kennedy notably rejected a qualifying offer from the Padres earlier this offseason, a decision that now looks astute, as he will receive a lucrative long-term deal despite a somewhat sketchy recent history and the fact that he’ll cost his new team a top draft pick. Kennedy posted mediocre numbers in 2015, with a solid 9.3 K/9 and 2.8 BB/9 but with a 4.28 ERA and 31 home runs allowed in 168 1/3 innings.

Kennedy did allow only 11 homers in the second half versus 20 in the first. His home run totals throughout the 2015 season were also perhaps somewhat high given his underlying numbers, and he had a strong season in San Diego in 2014. But his struggles to control the long ball last year were still hard to ignore.

Kennedy’s qualifying offer, his underwhelming performance and the large number of good free agent pitchers available did not prevent him from receiving a lucrative contract, however. And the opt-out is icing on the cake, adding considerable value to the deal by potentially giving Kennedy one more chance to land a big free agent contract at age 33, should his first two years in Kansas City go well. Opt-outs have, of course, become increasingly common this winter, and even a non-top-tier free agent in Scott Kazmir received one. But it’s still a bit surprising that Kennedy would get one on a $70MM deal, as the financial outlay of the deal looks rather generous even before considering the opt-out.

For the Royals, the appeal of adding a starting pitcher is obvious. Despite winning the World Series in 2015, the team’s 4.34 rotation ERA was fourth-worst in the American League. They had not yet significantly upgraded that rotation this offseason, and they projected to open with a staff consisting of Edinson Volquez, Yordano Ventura, Kris Medlen, Danny Duffy and veteran Chris Young. Kennedy should, at the very least, significantly improve their rotation depth.

To some extent, also, K.C. is betting that there’s positive regression to come. Metrics such as SIERA (3.61 last year) could be a better gauge of Kennedy’s true talent than his underwhelming earned run average. His weaknesses might also be somewhat minimized in Kansas City. While Kauffman Stadium is by no means a pitcher’s park, it does limit home runs, and the Royals’ strong outfield defense should help Kennedy turn his fly balls into outs.

But the organization is also simply continuing a well-established strategy of seeking durability in its starters, as it has in the past with pitchers like Edinson Volquez, Jason Vargas, and Jeremy Guthrie. Kennedy has made at least thirty starts in every season dating back to 2010. Though he hasn’t always reached 200 innings annually, the length of his outings is probably of less importance to the Royals — with their deep and excellent pen — than is his ability to take the ball every fifth day.

The deal also marks somewhat of a milestone for the Royals, who appear to be heading into 2016 with a set of commitments that are, for them, unprecedented. With Alex Gordon now back under contract, Kansas City already had $113MM in commitments. Add in Mike Moustakas’ as-yet-undetermined arbitration-year salary and Kennedy’s deal, and the Royals’ 2016 Opening Day payroll could top $130MM, as MLB.com’s Jeffrey Flanagan tweets. That figure will fly past their $113MM Opening Day payroll in 2015, to say nothing of their series of eight-figure Opening Day payrolls before that.

For yet more evidence of Kansas City’s enhanced willingness and ability to spend, it bears noting that Kennedy becomes the second record-breaking deal the organization has struck this winter. Gordon’s contract was (and still is) the largest single obligation ever entered into the Royals’ payroll ledger, topping the much earlier Mike Sweeney and Gil Meche contracts, while Kennedy takes over for Meche with the team’s top overall commitment to a pitcher.

Due to the qualifying offer, the Royals will give up the No. 24 overall pick in the draft. The Padres will receive a pick at the end of the first round.

Jon Heyman first reported the agreement and the terms (Twitter link). ESPN’s Jerry Crasnick reported the opt-out clause (also via Twitter). Heyman later added further details on the contract’s backloaded nature (Twitter link).

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

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