San Diego Padres Should Consider Trading Ian Kennedy
By Douglas Smith
@DFresh39
Getty Images
With a changing of the guard in the front office, the San Diego Padres decided to stay relatively quiet in trade talks during the MLB regular season. New general manager A.J. Preller does not have a need for salary relief, but the Padres need offensive help. The easiest way to get that help is to trade a starting pitcher, and Ian Kennedy is a good sell-high candidate.
The Padres were requesting a high return for Kennedy before the trade deadline and the price has not dropped much. His reliability makes him a wanted commodity across the league. Kennedy won his last three starts of the season and recorded at least five strikeouts in each of those games. He finished the year 13-13 and eclipsed the 180 innings pitched mark for the fifth straight year. Kennedy had the best fielding independent pitching stats on the Padres and was ahead of the likes of Johnny Cueto and Sonny Gray.
Kennedy is not a free agent until after next season and could be part of a decent starting rotation in San Diego with Andrew Cashner, Tyson Ross, Odrisamer Despaigne and Jesse Hahn. With time to reassess, Preller has to decide if he will find a free agent bat or two or send Kennedy out for an infielder with a little pop. Fans would be fine parting ways with Kennedy, so if Preller is looking to ship out a starter then Kennedy is the answer.
The two teams already rumored to be shopping infielders, the Washington Nationals and Detroit Tigers, are not necessarily looking for a starting pitcher. The Padres will have to be creative in trying to find a trade partner. Keep in mind that they will not be afraid to move Jedd Gyorko to third base if they can secure a second baseman, which includes the possibility of finding an everyday player in the international market.
Kennedy is serviceable and could find a home on a lot of rosters across the league. Run production felt non-existent for the Padres at times last season, so offense is the easy top focus this offseason. Kennedy can bring in a good return for a Padres team with holes all over the lineup.
Douglas Smith is a soccer writer for www.RantSports.com. Follow him on Twitter @DFresh39, “Like” him on Facebook, or add him to your network on Google.
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