Phillies Are A Possible Landing Spot for Dodgers 2B/OF Howie Kendrick
By John Town
The rumor mill keeps churning this offseason, as the Phillies are listed as a possible landing spot for Dodgers second baseman/outfielder Howie Kendrick.
The Phillies have shown to be active in the winter the past few years. They traded Jimmy Rollins and Marlon Byrd two years ago, and just last winter shipped off young closer Ken Giles. Just days after the World Series ended this year, the club traded for Astros relief pitcher Pat Neshek.
Ken Rosenthal of Fox Sports says Klentak and Co. may not be done just yet this offseason. According to his sources, the Los Angeles Dodgers are “exploring” a trade of their second baseman/outfielder Howie Kendrick. Rosenthal named a couple possible landing spots for Kendrick, with the Phils being the first on the list:
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"The Phillies are one possible landing spot for Kendrick, sources say — the Phils are looking for short-term upgrades, and their general manager, Matt Klentak, was the Angels’ assistant GM during the latter part of Kendrick’s tenure in Anaheim."
The 33-year old Kendrick just finished his second season with the Dodgers after spending nine seasons with the Angels.
By wRC+ standards, Kendrick had his worst season this year since his rookie campaign in 2006. He finished the year with a 91 wRC+ to go along with a .255/.326/.366 line.
2014 was Kendrick’s last good season. He finished the year with 5.3 rWAR and a .744 OPS. Kendrick wound up 18th in the AL MVP voting. He also had an All-Star campaign in 2011 where he posted a .285/.338/.464 line with 18 home runs.
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Kendrick, a natural second baseman, spent most of the year in left field after former Phillie Chase Utley took the reigns at second. Kendrick started 79 games in left field to go along with 14 starts at third and seven at first.
Kendrick fits with the Phillies because he fills in the glaring hole in left field. He also provides value since he can play most positions in the infield if needed. He likely wouldn’t cost too much in terms of prospects since he is owed $10 million in 2017 and didn’t play up to it last year.
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It is clear the Phillies need an upgrade in the outfield, but at the same time they don’t want to commit too much money to someone long-term. Kendrick fits that bill since his contract expires after 2017 and he won’t cost the team a bundle of prospects.