Padres Rumors: Which Padres Player is Getting Traded At the Deadline?
Option #2: Ian Kennedy
Another important Padre player that is a free agent after this season is Ian Kennedy. Almost more so than Justin Upton, it seems pretty clear that Ian Kennedy will not be back with the Padres following this season. With a penny-pinching agent in Scott Boras, the Padres will most likely be unable to afford his services beyond this season. Behind Upton, Kennedy is probably the Padres most attractive trade piece given the league-wide need for pitching depth.
The only issues that arise with trading Kennedy are: his lowered trade value given his up and down performance on the season and the Padres need for pitching given the staff-wide struggles for the Padres pitching staff. If Kennedy continues to pitch well for the team Kennedy could very well still be a tradable asset and if the Padres can get some injured pitchers such as Morrow, Johnson, and Luebke back near or after the all-star break they may feel a little more comfortable cashing in on Kennedy’s free agent status before the deadline.
If circumstances are right and the Padres do feel comfortable in trading Ian Kennedy there are certainly quite a few teams that could be interested in his services. These include teams with playoff and World Series aspirations who may be just a pitcher away from success. Some of these teams are the St. Louis Cardinals, the Chicago Cubs, the Boston Red Sox, the Toronto Blue Jays, the Detroit Tigers, the Kansas City Royals, among quite a few others. There is always a strong need for pitching across the league and Ian Kennedy may be able to fetch a decent return in a trade. The return should include two or three prospects and could even include an upper level prospect from another team’s farm system.
Chances a Trade Gets Done: 60-70%
If the Padres find themselves out of contention or find themselves with a healthy Brandon Morrow, Cory Luebke, and Josh Johnson it seems likely that they will pull the trigger and deal Ian Kennedy. This is certainly again contingent on whether the Padres find themselves as buyers or sellers come the end of July.
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Editorial and Prospect Writer for East Village Times. Twenty-five years young, Patrick has lived in San Diego for his entire life and has been a Padres fan nearly as long. Patrick lives for baseball and is always looking to learn new things about the game he loves through advanced stats.
