Phillies Alumnus Kyle Kendrick Invited to Red Sox Spring Training
By John Town
Former Phillies pitcher Kyle Kendrick is still making his way around the league, signing a minor-league deal with the Red Sox with an invite to spring training.
When the Phillies parted ways with Kyle Kendrick after the 2014 season, I honestly can’t remember ever hearing about him again. Maybe once or twice I caught a side story of him screaming something from atop the Rocky Mountains, but overall he has been off my radar.
Kendrick has made his way back into the Philadelphia sports world, and this time it isn’t even for returning to Philadelphia. The righty signed a minor-league deal with the Red Sox with an invite to their spring training. Kendrick will be pitching alongside Cy Young-caliber pitchers once again, this time in the form of David Price and Chris Sale.
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Kendrick, if you don’t remember or choose to forget, pitched eight years in Philadelphia. He appeared in 226 games, posting a 74-68 record, 4.42 ERA, 1.367 WHIP, and 1.93 strikeout-to-walk ratio. He actually led the league in hits by pitch in 2008, plunking 14 batters.
The Phils allowed Kendrick to pitch in one postseason game during his tenure.
Coming off a solid rookie season in 2007 where Kendrick finished fifth in Rookie of the Year voting, he allowed five runs in 3.2 innings to the Rockies. The team left him off the postseason roster in 2008 when they won the World Series, and he made zero appearances in the postseason after 2007.
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The Rockies signed Kendrick to pitch for them in 2015, which may not have been the best move considering how home run-prone Kendrick is. In 27 starts for Colorado, Kendrick allowed a league-leading 33 home runs and finished the year with a 6.32 ERA. He did launch a home run of his own for the Rockies, but that certainly didn’t balance it out.
Kendrick spent 2016 with the Angels’ Triple-A affiliate, the Salt Lake Bees. He finished the year with a 4.72 ERA in 16 appearances. He also made four starts with their rookie-level affiliate, where he was 10.4 years older than the average player and obviously did much better.
In Boston, Kendrick will be reunited with his former general manager, Ruben Amaro Jr., who is now their first-base coach. Maybe he can rediscover his 2007 magic and credit it all to Amaro, surely to land him another GM job!
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In all likelihood, Kendrick will log innings for Boston in Triple-A, maybe serving as a depth arm if all of their starters get injured.