Veteran second baseman Howie Kendrick is still looking for a team to play with in 2016. Kendrick most recently with the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2015 where he hit .295 with 9 homeruns and 54 RBI in 117 games. Kendrick an All-Star in 2011 with the Los Angeles Angels and also played nine seasons on the Angels 2006-2014. Shockingly Kendrick still hasn’t found a team to play with yet as he is a career .293 hitter with post season experience and solid defensively.
The fact whichever team does sign Kendrick will lose a draft pick is most likely what is chasing most teams away. In this era of baseball no organization wants to lose a draft pick because you never know when the next Mike Trout will be available. Most teams think Kendrick is not worth losing a draft pick over, but I believe there is one team that is willing to take a loss on the pick and sign Kendrick.
The Los Angeles Angels have said they are trying to sign players like Justin Upton and Yoenis Cespedes, but it has to fit in their budget. Johnny Giavotella is set to be the 2016 second baseman for the Angels who is a career .255 hitter and only has 890 major league at bats. If Kendrick is willing to take less salary then he’s probably worth I could see the Angels signing Kendrick. The Angels did trade Kendrick to the Dodgers, but the MLB is a business. If the Angels feel Kendrick gives them an upgrade over Giavotella they will sign him.
The Angels realized they have to start winning now because they won’t have Mike Trout forever and their fan base is losing patience. The Angels aren’t going to pay Upton and Cespedes 150 million like they demand. The team would much rather sign Kendrick to a team friendly deal and take their chances with Daniel Nava and Craig Gentry platoon in left field. A reunion between Kendrick and the Angels seems like a real possibility depending on if Kendrick would be open to it. At 32 years of age Kendrick wants to play with a team that has a chance for a championship and the Angels might be the best team that will actually offer Kendrick a contract.
