Some minor news for your Thursday night. In advance of tomorrow's deadline to exchange arbitration numbers, the Phillies have gotten the projected highest-paid of their arbitration cases settled. The Phillies and Kyle Kendrick agreed to a deal that will cover Kendrick's last season under contract before he is a free agent.
Joel Sherman of the New York Post reports the Phillies and Kendrick agreed to a figure:
#Phillies avoid arbitration with Kyle Kendrick, sign him for $7.675M
— Joel Sherman (@Joelsherman1) January 17, 2014
The figure is just about $1 million more than Matt Swartz of MLB Trade Rumors expected Kendrick to get, but just under the $8 million figure others projected Kendrick to get.
The Phillies have three other players to sign: Ben Revere, John Mayberry, and Antonio Bastardo. Swartz's Phillies projections were as follows:
- Kyle Kendrick – $6.6MM
- Antonio Bastardo – $2MM
- John Mayberry – $1.7MM
- Ben Revere – $1.5MM
The Phillies may add another starting pitcher or two, so settling these players' salaries would be helpful in determining how much money they'll have to work with. It is unclear at this time if the inflated salaries of 2014 free agents will inflate arbitration numbers just yet.
Looking ahead to next year when Kendrick hits free agency, a comparable pitcher to Kendrick would be Jason Vargas, who recently signed with the Kansas City Royals. Vargas has logged more innings than Kendrick his last few years and only Vargas of the two has a 200+ inning season under his belt. But otherwise their numbers are pretty similar. Vargas got a four-year, $32 million deal with the Kansas City Royals. That could be about what Kendrick gets in free agency next season.
