The Hustlers kept their eye on the free agent pool in hopes of replacing Mazzola with another veteran. They saw Allen Kennedy (7/9/8 Ratings, 122 - 114, 3.55 ERA, 1.24 WHIP, 1520 K) out there, and decided to make his agent an offer that they didn't expect to be received well by Kennedy's camp. The offer- two years, $8M per year.
He accepted.
Suddenly, the Hustlers find themselves with a stronger rotation than last year. Hard to imagine, but Kennedy is even more talented than Mazzola though the results haven't beared that out recently. Kennedy comes off an uneven year with California last year. A partially torn labrum cost Kennedy three months of the year, and at season's end Kennedy only started 15 games, going 3-6 with a disappointing 5.03 ERA.
Las Vegas thinks that subpar season was all a matter of the defense behind him. Kennedy's BABIP was a shocking .345, fifty-five points higher than his career mark of .290. All of this means that if you put Kennedy in front of the Hustlers staunch defense, it's a different season.
"I'm excited for this opportunity," Kennedy said. "Can't remember the last time I was ever slotted fifth in a rotation, but if it gets me a ring I'm up for whatever."
"This is a perfect fit for our organization," stated Hustlers General Manager Matt Rectenwald. "Allen brings a veteran presence to our rotation, and we really like being able to keep Philip Morris (10/7/5 Ratings, 5 - 0, 3.62 ERA, 1.53 WHIP, 54 K) in the bullpen role he was so effective in late last season."
