Kennedy set to open year in relief
SURPRISE, Ariz. -- Royals right-hander Ian Kennedy will start the season in a bullpen role, manager Ned Yost confirmed to MLB.com on Tuesday.
Kennedy, in the fourth year of a five-year, $70 million contract, had been in consideration for a bullpen role since last fall.
Kennedy, though, until recently, was being stretched out as a starter this spring. He pitched in relief in his last two outings, including one shutout inning Sunday. But in 291 big league appearances, he has only pitched out of the bullpen twice, the last coming 10 years ago when he was a member of the Yankees.
“I saw what I wanted to see,” Yost said of Kennedy’s scoreless inning Sunday. “I saw a jump in velocity. Fastball up to 95 [mph]. Good breaking stuff.”
Kennedy, 34, said pitching out of the bullpen was somewhat exhilarating.
“It’s something different,” Kennedy said. “I told them that’s the most adrenaline I have had in a Spring Training game in a long time. It took me a while to actually grasp it. I’m excited about it.”
Kennedy said he wasn’t sure what was behind his velocity spike Sunday, but he expects that he can repeat it.
“I don’t have to hold back,” he said. “I can just let it go at some point.”
Kennedy went as far to say that he could envision himself making the transition to closer at some point.
“I would love that,” he said.
The Royals, whom Yost said will not have a defined closer, likely plan to use Kennedy in high-leverage situations along with Wily Peralta, Jake Diekman, Brad Boxberger and Tim Hill. Club officials are attempting to develop a shut-down bullpen similar to what they had from 2013-15, when they had their first winning season in 10 years and also went to back-to-back World Series. In that time, they believed if they had a lead after five or six innings, they could virtually secure a victory.
Of course, trying to duplicate the success of the Royals’ famous H-D-H bullpen (Kelvin Herrera, Wade Davis, Greg Holland) will be a formidable challenge.
Kennedy’s veteran presence appeared to make him a more suitable bullpen option than right-hander Heath Fillymer, who now could be in line for a rotation spot.
Still, the move of Kennedy to the bullpen was somewhat surprising because there was a thinking early in camp that he would get a crack at the rotation early in the regular season before any transition to a relief role would take place.
Kennedy was solid in 2016 after signing his deal with the Royals, pitching 195 2/3 innings and posting a 3.68 ERA. But he has struggled with injuries the past two seasons, and has posted ERAs of 5.38 and 4.66.
Kennedy’s move to the bullpen will have a ripple effect on the Royals’ rotation and bullpen decisions.
Right-hander Brad Keller, the team’s pitcher of the year in 2018, already has been named the Opening Day starter. Right-hander Jakob Junis likely will be No. 2 in the rotation followed by right-hander Jorge Lopez, who has had a solid camp (1.88 ERA in four starts) and, according to several scouts, has perhaps the highest ceiling among Royals starters.
The fourth spot could be a battle between Fillmyer, who had a 4.26 ERA in 17 games in 2018 and seemingly is a big part of the Royals’ future, and perhaps right-hander Homer Bailey, who is a non-roster invitee but who delivered four shutout innings on Saturday in his best start of the spring. Bailey, though, has a March 25 opt-out date.
The Royals won’t need a fifth starter until at least the second week of the regular season, maybe even later, depending on potential postponements. Left-hander Danny Duffy, the Royals’ Opening Day starter the past two seasons, is overcoming a bout of shoulder tightness and continues to progress in his throwing program. Duffy likely will remain in extended Spring Training when camp breaks to continue building his arm strength.
Duffy, in theory, could slide into the No. 5 rotation role sometime in April when he’s healthy.
Meanwhile, the Royals’ bullpen will be loaded with veteran arms on the back end with the addition of Kennedy.
The move of Kennedy to the bullpen could be related to the spring struggles of right-hander Drew Storen, whom the Royals had hoped might be ready to be a bullpen addition by the time the regular season started. But Storen, who hasn’t pitched in the big leagues since 2017 because of Tommy John surgery, also likely will stay in Arizona for extended Spring Training.
Storen, signed to a Minor League deal, has a 15.43 ERA in four spring outings and has walked seven hitters and hit three more batters in just 2 1/3 innings.
With Kennedy moving to the bullpen, there likely will be only three spots there up for grabs. One of those openings almost surely will go to right-hander Kevin McCarthy, a workhorse who appeared in 65 games last season (second highest on the team) and has a 1.50 ERA in six spring games. McCarthy does have options, though. The remaining two spots will be highly contested. Right-hander Kyle Zimmer has been superb this spring, not allowing a run in six appearances, and while he has options, he seems close to a lock to making the 25-man roster.
The final bullpen spot likely would be between one of the two Rule 5 Draft picks, Sam McWilliams or Chris Ellis (it seems unlikely the Royals will carry two Rule 5 picks, as they did last year), or right-hander Michael Ynoa, who has impressed Yost and his staff, but is a non-roster invitee, or Fillmyer, if he doesn’t slide into the early rotation. Fillmyer has options.