Royals History: KC tried to bolster rotation with Ian Kennedy on this day in 2016

Getting to the World Series before losing it in 2014, then winning the Series just one season later, seemed to give the Kansas City Royals an almost insatiable appetite for more. So hungry were they for another Fall Classic that they veered from their historically spendthrift ways to sign Ian Kennedy, a talented but inconsistent right-handed starter, to a startling $70 million, five-year contract for 2016. Unfortunately — and except for only one stellar season — Kennedy's performance over the life of the deal he agreed to on January 16, 2016, didn't measure up to its mega-value.

On paper, signing Kennedy made some sense. Only four starters — Edinson Vólquez, Yordano Ventura, Danny Duffy, and Chris Young — were guaranteed to return to the rotation in 2016, and only they among the club's regular 2015 starters were reasonably expected to be Royals for all, or even part, of 2016. Jason Vargas was slated to spend most of the 2016 campaign rehabbing from Tommy John Surgery, and Jeremy Guthrie and Johnny Cueto became never-to-return free agents when the 2015 World Series ended.

But the amount of money Kansas City threw at Kennedy was surprising. Sure, he'd made his big league bones with the Arizona Diamondbacks by going 21-4 with a 2.88 ERA and tying Clayton Kershaw for the 2011 National League lead in wins, then winning another 15 times in 2012. But he slipped to 7-10 and his ERA jumped to 4.91 in 2013, a season he split between Arizona and the San Diego Padres, and he won 22 but lost 28 over the next two campaigns in San Diego.

Only that he arrived in Kansas City with a nine-year 75-68, 3.98 ERA career record arguably seemed to justify the signing ... but not the money.

Ian Kennedy's success as a KC Royals starter didn't last long

Kennedy went 11-11 with a serviceable 3.68 ERA in his 33-start first KC season. But it was a roller-coaster effort — his monthly ERAs ranged from August's 1.86 to June's 5.83, and he lost seven of nine decisions from May 12 to July 25. Kennedy's next two seasons were far worse — he slumped to 5-13 and his ERA skyrocketed to 5.38 in 2017, and he went 3-9 with a 4.66 ERA in 2018.

Then came an experiment.

Ian Kennedy broke out as a good reliever in 2019

On March 28, 2019, Kennedy started his fourth campaign with the Royals and 14th overall by doing something he'd done in the majors only twice before.

He made a relief appearance.

With his team leading the Chicago White Sox by five going into the eighth inning of the season opener for both clubs, manager Mike Matheny chose Kennedy to replace starter Brad Keller. Up to the new task, Kennedy retired the Sox in order. It was the only frame he'd pitch that day, but he helped the Royals to a 5-3 win and launched his own highly successful campaign.

Kennedy recorded his first big league save a game later, then went on to save 29 more, including nine in July and eight in June, when he also surrendered only one run in 9.1 innings (0.96 ERA). He finished his bullpen experiment with 30 saves — the club's most since Greg Holland saved 32 in 2015 — a 3.41 ERA, and a 3-2 record.

Success doesn't always last long, though, and didn't for Kennedy. The offseason signings of established veteran closers Trevor Rosenthal and Holland seemed to signal a probable changing of the guard in Matheny's bullpen, and that's precisely what happened.

Rosenthal's move into the closer's role during the short 2020 season didn't take long. He'd saved 11 games and held opponents to just five runs in 23.2 innings when the Royals dealt him to the Padres at the trade deadline, and Holland replaced him. Kennedy, on the other hand, didn't get a single save opportunity that season and opponents knocked him around for 17 runs (14 earned) in 14 innings. And a calf problem forced him out of action for the season's final month.

So ended Kennedy's Kansas City career. For their $70 million, the Royals received Kennedy's 22-37, 4.48 ERA overall effort and his 19-35 record as a starter.

But the club did get one fine season out of the bullpen from Kennedy. And saving 30 games for the 2019 team that lost 103 games wasn't bad. It just didn't outweigh the balance of his body of work in Kansas City.