reliever medication Ian Kennedy elected as minor league free agency after not claiming full exemption, according to transaction tracking at MLB.com. Rangers assigned the right-hander to the mission last week.
Kennedy returned to the open market in search of new opportunities after a brief second in Texas. The 17-year MLB veteran has enjoyed a certain amount of success with Rangers in the first half of 2021 leading to a deadline trade that brought him to Philadelphia. He returned in the winter on a minor league pact and parted ways with the club but made just 11 appearances during his second stint.
The 38-year-old player surrendered ten times over several innings. He beat 13 out of 46 players (an impressive 28.3%) while doing only three walks. He has already earned swing shots on 16.3% of his massive offering, which would easily be the best mark of his career if he can sustain it. Competitors have made a lot of quality contact when they do However, put the ball in play, contributing to the decision of Texas to go through. Kennedy also struggled with a strong collision last year in Arizona, resulting in a 5.36 ERA over 50 1/3 frames.
While this past season has been a struggle, Kennedy has sometimes been a quality end-game pain reliever. He saved 30 games with a 3.41 ERA for the Royals in 2019 and added 26 saves while allowing 3.20 runs earned each nine in the ’21 campaign split between the Texas and Phillies . Between that track record and this year’s number of small-sample strikes, Kennedy could at least find minor league interest elsewhere.
