Five MLB free agents who could have qualifying offer issues

Ian Kennedy

The San Diego Padres made a lot of moves to make the club better in 2015, but very few of them went right as the club struggled throughout 2015. Now the Padres are looking for a reset, both for their farm system and their ball club, and injection of youth is at the top of the docket.

One way to do that is to get extra picks in the June draft. With both Justin Upton and Ian Kennedy hitting the free agent market, the club jumped at the chance to extend qualifying offers to the pair, both of whom rejected it.

While Upton had a slam dunk choice in rejecting the offer and exploring his options, Kennedy’s choice was a bit more of a gamble. In a period when pitching was at a premium, the right-hander took his chances that the money would be out there. Unfortunately, he’s been seen as somewhat of an afterthought.

The 31-year-old likely wishes it came after the 2014 campaign, when he won 13 games and posted a 3.63 ERA, a 3.21 FIP, and a 0.72 HR/FB ratio. Unfortunately, it comes after a 2015 season where he went 9-15 with a 4.28 ERA, a 4.51 FIP, and watched his home run rate more than double to 1.66 despite pitching half of his games in the cavernous Petco Park.

That all said, Wei-Lin Chen and Mike Leake both found multi-year deals north of $80 million this winter regardless of peripheral stats and Chen had similar draft pick compensation anchoring him down deep into the winter. Kennedy may still find his buyer, but with the days until Spring Training ticking away, he may need to settle for a smaller deal.

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