The Rockies made a move Tuesday, inking veteran right-hander Kyle Kendrick to a one-year deal as first reported by Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports.
Source: Rockies, Kyle Kendrick agree to one-year, $5.5M deal with another $500K if he reaches 190 innings pitched.
— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) February 3, 2015
The 30-year-old Kendrick has spent his entire eight-year with the Philadelphia Phillies, amassing a 74-68 career record to go along with a 4.42 ERA.
The deal should give the Rockies some added insurance in case another rash of injuries strikes the pitching staff, or if the team’s young prospects aren’t ready to seize a rotation spot out of spring training. Kendrick has shown that he can stay healthy and pitched a slightly above replacement-level and set a career-high 199 innings-pitched last year.
The deal is a pretty low-risk, low-reward move for the Rockies – Kendrick is a known commodity at this point, a sinkerball/changeup guy who pitches to contact – or basically just the kind of pitcher the Rockies have traditionally coveted. The one thing to keep an eye on however – Kendrick allowed 25 home runs last season. Although he did pitch at Citizens Bank Park, a known bandbox, things probably won’t get much easier at Coors Field.
But forget all that for now, and let’s focus on Kendrick’s biggest claim to fame – the time he was traded for the best hot dog eater in the world.
Zach Marburger is a staff writer for Mile High Sports. He can be reached via email at zmarburger@milehighsports.com or on Twitter @BurchBurger.