Ian Kennedy trade rumors: Padres, Yankees talking about a trade?
By Hayden Kane
What we have here is a batch of Ian Kennedy trade rumors and a battle of the sources.
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Start with the basics. The San Diego starting pitcher is having an outstanding season, with his ERA down, his strikeouts up, and his performances consistently good. In that context, the Padres are shooting for the stars in any potential deal for him, even as the team that has most aggressively been sellers thus far.
If they do not get that desired package from a trade partner, they will simply keep Kennedy.
The New York Yankees are interested in being that trade partner. They are a team desperate for starting pitching and aggressively moving to acquire it. If there is a suitor with the motivation to offer the Padres this sort of deal, it is the Yankees.
Late Thursday night, Jim Bowden of ESPN reported that the Yankees and Padres were talking about the specifics of a deal.
Yankees & Padres discussing deal that would send Ian Kennedy to Yankees in exchange for Eric Jagielo and Ian Clarkin according to a source
— Jim Bowden⚾️🏈 (@JimBowdenGM) July 25, 2014
That report was quickly shot down by some of Bowden’s colleague on the national beat, including Jon Heyman and Chris Cotillo.
theres nothing hot at all with kennedy and yankees at moment. theyd like a SP but no match to date on Ian K.
— Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) July 25, 2014
Source: #Yankees not being aggressive on Ian Kennedy. Clarkin/Jagielo package seems unlikely at the moment.
— Chris Cotillo (@ChrisCotillo) July 25, 2014
The interesting thing is, those two sides of this story do not necessarily have to contradict each other. A “discussion” can go a lot of different ways, after all. If the teams are talking about a deal, it makes sense. The Padres are waiting for a team that is feeling the urgency of the moment to make them an offer, knowing they will have to be blown away to trade Kennedy at all.
If any team is going to feel that pressure, it’s going to be the Yankees, even if it has not happened yet.