Dodgers’ Howie Kendrick advocates change to free agency rules

Howie Kendrick suffered from the effects of Major League Baseball’s draft-pick compensation system this winter. This was the opinion of plenty of agents and executives throughout baseball after Kendrick signed a two-year, $20-million contract to return to the Dodgers last week. It was also Kendrick’s opinion.

Because Kendrick rejected a one-year, $15.8 million-qualifying offer from the Dodgers in November, any other team that signed him would have been forced to sacrifice a draft pick. Kendrick believes this suppressed his market.

“You’re asking [teams] to make a choice between present talent and future talent, and I think you should be able to have both,” he said Friday, a day after the contract became official. “If you want to go out and sign a free agent, I think there shouldn’t be any penalty on that. You shouldn’t have to lose your draft pick. I think free agency should be free agency. You shouldn’t really have any strings attached to that.”

Kendrick mentioned the plight of other players who have yet to sign. As of Friday afternoon, still unsigned were players like shortstop Ian Desmond, outfielder Dexter Fowler and pitcher Yovani Gallardo.

Here are some other things Kendrick had to say on a conference call with reporters Friday afternoon:

On returning to the Dodgers: “At the end of the season, I actually was really hoping that I would return to L.A. I think one of the biggest things is I think they knew that I probably wasn’t going to accept the qualifying offer. It was my first time going into free agency. I was very optimistic about going into the market.

“I’m very happy to be back in L.A., though. Because I really enjoyed my time here last year, and had a lot of fun with the guys. We came up short, but I definitely really enjoyed playing here. The fans, the team, the front office, everybody was great.”

On playing alongside rookie shortstop Corey Seager: “It’s just going to be one of those things where I’m just getting a feel for how he plays. I played with him a little bit, when I came back, after I was hurt. Seager’s a great guy. You hear all the stuff about the Dodgers not trading him, and then he came up and made his debut.

“For a long time, I’ve gotten to play against his brother. When I was with the Angels, I played his brother for quite a while. And I really like his brother, [Seattle third baseman] Kyle Seager. And Kyle is an awesome guy. So I didn’t really know what to expect about his brother. And then once I got around Corey, I’m like ‘Man, it must just run in the family.’ Because both of those guys are really awesome people, who they are as people, let alone players.

“And then his demeanor as a player, he’s really calm. You don’t see him get too upset too much. He has a confidence about him when he gets out on the field, or out on defense, or even in the locker room, or in the dugout. That’s going to be huge, because you’ll be able to talk to him.

“We’re going to make mistakes in this game. And hopefully he’ll ask me questions, and I can give him as much info as I possibly can. I’m always open to helping guys out. You never know. I might learn something from him, too.”

On his relationship with new Manager Dave Roberts: “Dave’s a great guy, great personality. So was Don Mattingly. I had no issue with Donnie. They’re all baseball guys. Both guys are baseball guys. They know the game. They’ve played the game. They were great players when they played. And I have great respect for both guys.

“Dave’s always been a positive guy, every time I’ve talked to him. I’ve always made it a point when I saw him, whether he was down in San Diego or anywhere else, just to say hello to him. Because he’s a guy that I respected the way he played the game, and I knew what he brought every day to the game. And I had the opportunity to see him play for a long time. To actually be on a team where he’s the manager, it kind of comes full circle.”

Andy.mccullough@latimes.com

Twitter: @McCulloughTimes