Royals relievers Greg Holland and Ian Kennedy were among the 147 players who became free agents on Wednesday. The Royals have four free agents in all, with Holland and Kennedy joining starter Matt Harvey and outfielder Alex Gordon, who has announced his retirement.
Royals manager Mike Matheny has expressed an interest in bringing back Holland, who he praised for his tutelage of young Royals pitchers. The 34-year old revived his career with a 1.91 ERA in 28 1⁄3 innings with the Royals, and was especially dominant down the stretch, giving up just one run and one walk with 20 strikeouts over his last 16 innings.