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| Jason Kendall has signed a two-year deal with the Royals, according to MLB.com. Financial terms were not disclosed. |
Our View: Kendall has no power at this point of his career, and only hit .241 over 134 games with Milwaukee last season. He isn't going to do much to help the Royals improve on offense for 2010.
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| The Royals are still trying to sign catcher Jason Kendall, according to Jon Paul Morosi of Fox Sports. |
Our View: Poor Kansas City. On the day they release on-base black-hole Mike Jacobs, they zero in on a hitless wonder. While Kendall's 2009 OBP of .331 was 39 points higher than Miguel Olivo's (the Royals' 2009 starter at catcher), he hit 21 fewer home runs than Olivo, that being two. Kendall hit .241 for Milwaukee last season, and "slugged" an astonishing .305. The Royals continue to assemble their "offense" in a stunningly inept fashion.
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| According to Bob Dutton on Twitter, the Royals have made a two-year offer to free agent catcher Jason Kendall. |
Our View: The Royals had previously offered Kendall a one-year deal, but upped it to two-years in efforts to eliminate any competition. The Rangers have also been rumored as being interested, so let's see if Kendall heads towards money or the chance to compete next season.
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| Jason Kendall is on the Rangers' radar, according to MLBblogs.com. |
Our View: The Rangers are in the market for a veteran catcher with Jarrod Saltalamacchia's status uncertain due to his shoulder. Texas will also consider Yorvit Torrealba, Jose Molina and Henry Blanco.
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| Jason Kendall wanted $5MM to remain with the Brewers for 2010, according to Ed Price's (Fanhouse.com) twitter page. |
Our View: That helps explain why Milwaukee signed veteran catcher Gregg Zaun (at only $1.9MM). Kendall only batted .241 over 134 games in 2009, and was not worth his desired salary.
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| Jason Kendall recorded just one hit on Tuesday, but managed to drive in four in the Brewers 7-5, 11-inning loss to the Rockies. |
Our View: Three of the RBI came on Kendall's second homer of the season and his total of four was double his season-high for a single game effort. He had just one in September before Tuesday's effort.
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| Jason Kendall hit his first home run of the season on Friday and drove in two, but it wasn't enough, as the Brewers continued their fade, losing 6-3 in Houston. |
Our View: Entering the game, Kendall had 319 homerless at-bats in 2009. Since hitting ten home runs for Pittsburgh in 2001, the journeyman catcher has just 19.
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| According to MLBlogs.com, Jason Kendall will start at catcher and hit ninth for the Brewers on Saturday. |
Our View: The reason this is noteworthy is that Mike Rivera does the catching with Dave Bush on the mound, but not today. Bush has struggled lately and the Brewers may be trying to mix things up to get him out of his funk.
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| Jason Kendall picked up his 2,000th career hit on Monday in the second inning of the Brewers' game Monday in St. Louis. |
Our View: Congrats to Kendall on hit 2,000. He has struggled this season, but it is always nice to see a player achieve a career milestone. He is the eighth full-time catcher to get 2,000.
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| Brewers manager Ken Macha wants to get catcher Jason Kendall a day off each week, according to MLB.com. Kendall started more games at the position than any other player in baseball last season. Mike Rivera will get the extra starts as Kendall's backup. |
Our View: Regular rest is not something that Kendall is accustomed to. In eight of his past nine seasons, he has played in at least 145 games. While Kendall doesn't provide much fantasy value, he obviously plays a ton of games. That is one of the primary reasons he makes for a very good No. 2 catcher.
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| Jason Kendall had a hit and stole a bag for the Brewers on Thursday night. |
Our View: Kendall is hitting a middling .256 with just 41 RBI, but he has scored 43 runs while adding six stolen bases as he continues to be a bottom tier second backstop in mixed leagues.
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| Brewers catcher Jason Kendall does not have a quality match-up as his team takes on Johan Santana and the Mets on Monday. Not many hitters have success against Santana, but Kendall is particularly bad, hitting just .059 (1-for-17) in his career off the lefty. |
Our View: Kendall is likely only being used in NL-only formats, as his lack of power or sufficient average limits him, so those owners should take caution before inserting him their lineup.
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| Jason Kendall may be hitting only .248 on the season, but he is 13-for-29 (.448) against Cubs starter Ryan Dempster who the Brewers face tonight, according to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. |
Our View: Kendall is only 14-for-82 in July (.171), so he could certainly use a matchup with a pitcher who has had a lot of success against.
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| Jason Kendall has enjoyed his time in Milwaukee and has been just what the Brewers had hoped for, according to MLB.com. "He's been better than we thought," GM Doug Melvin said. "The one question we had was, is he going to throw people out?" |
Our View: Kendall has thrown out 42.5% of runners, a tremendous improvement over last year, and he is once again on pace for 140 games played. Kendall offers next to nothing in terms of run potential, but he is still a useful play in points leagues and a solid #2 catcher in deep mixed leagues.
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| Jason Kendall had a solid all-around outing on Wednesday night as he has two hits, two RBI, two runs scored and a SB for the Brew Crew. |
Our View: One of the hits was the first home run of the year for Kendall. After hitting .301 in April, Kendall has fallen on hard times of late to lower his average to .251, but he still has value in points leagues given the fact that he plays almost every day.
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| Jason Kendall has been moved back to the eighth spot in the Brewers' order, according to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. |
Our View: For Sunday, Ben Sheets will bat in the usual ninth spot for a pitcher. Ned Yost is trying to turn around a slumping Brewers' offense. JJ Hardy will bat seventh.
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| Jason Kendall had just his third hitless game of the season on Friday as his average fell to .483. Kendall, the only Brewer starter currently hitting over .300, has been on an amazing tear to open up the year. His power is all but gone, and he hardly runs anymore, but he still has a good shot at producing quality numbers in the average and runs scored categories, and this hot start will go a long way to making that prediction a reality. |
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| Jason Kendall went 3-for-4 on Wednesday with one run scored and two RBI from the ninth hole in the Brewers lineup. Kendall also stole a base in a fantastic all-around effort, so perhaps that off-season surgery on his eyes will allow Kendall to once again be a useful fantasy option at the catchers spot. |
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| The Brewers signed Jason Kendall to a one-year contract Wednesday. The deal also includes an option that could become guaranteed. Kendall will start for the Brew Crew with Johnny Estrada now in New York. |
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| The Brewers appear close to signing free agent Jason Kendall to a deal. GM Doug Melvin is hoping to get the catcher under contract before Thanksgiving. "We're still talking," Melvin said in the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel. "But we're not the ones to say we have a deal." If Kendall is brought in, the team will likely try and trade Johnny Estrada. |
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| Geovany Soto, not Jason Kendall, was in the lineup Thursday, one day after manager Lou Pinella said Kendall would be his catcher over the final few games. Piniella told the Chicago Sun-Times Soto was in the lineup because of the day game after a night game and suggested Kendall would be in the lineup for all three games at Cincinnati this weekend. |
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| Jason Kendall was back in the lineup Wednesday after not starting for a week. Kendall had been nursing a thumb injury, though he said he didn't need any time off. "The thumb's been fine," he said in the Chicago Sun-Times. "It's always been fine. And there's plenty of time to rest in the offseason." Geovany Soto, who had been playing in place of Kendall, is hitting .421 this month and the Cubs are 7-2 when he starts, but manager Lou Pinella said he will go with Kendall the rest of the way. "In the situation we're in, we stay as veteran as we can and utilize that experience," Piniella said Wednesday. "I would expect [Kendall] to catch for sure four of the five remaining games, possibly all five." |
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| The Cubs plan to split the catching duties between Jason Kendall and Koyie Hill, at least in the short term, the Chicago Tribune reports. |
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| The Cubs acquired Jason Kendall on Monday in a trade with the Athletics for catcher Rob Bowen and minor league left-hander Jerry Blevins, according to the AP. "We certainly feel we're going to be in it the rest of the way. His character and his leadership is terrific. We feel he's still got a lot left in the tank," Cubs general manager Jim Hendry said. Kendall was batting only .226 for the A's this season with two homers and 22 RBI. |
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| Jason Kendall was given a routine day off Saturday, the AP reports. We assume you didn't miss him much, as Kendall is having an ugly season (.228 average, .284 slugging, two homers). |
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| Jason Kendall is scheduled for a routine day off Wednesday, the Athletics official site reports. He's hitless in his last 17 at-bats. |
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| Bob Geren is leaning towards Jason Kendall in the leadoff spot with Shannon Stewart batting second, according to the Contra Costa Times. "It's kind of like having two No.1 guys back-to-back really," Geren said. "If I have them 1-2, I'd rather have Stewart second just for (avoiding hitting into) the double-play-type thing." |
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| Jason Kendall is entering the final year of his contract and is hoping to rework his deal with the A's, according to the San Francisco Chronicle. GM Billy Beane said he would sit down and talk with Kendall to discuss it. Kendall will receive $13 million this season, though the Pirates will pay $5 million of it. |
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| Jason Kendall, who was hit in the head by a broken bat on Sunday, is being examined for post-concussion syndrome, according to the Contra Costa Times. "We've played mind games with him," said trainer Larry Davis, explaining he asked Kendall math questions. "He's fine today." Kendall went 1-for-4 at the plate on Monday night. |
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