The Kansas City Royals signed Ian Kennedy in the 2015 offseason in which they were still celebrating their first World Seris title since 1985. Most figured he would bolster an already strong rotation that featured Edinson Volquez, Yordano Ventura (RIP), Kris Medlen, and Danny Duffy.
However, those high hopes started to dwindle when Kennedy saw his velocity continue to dip. His last truly good season as a starter was in 2016 when he pitched to a 3.68 ERA in 33 starts and struck out 184 batters in 195.