Kyle Kendrick, who spent his entire professional career with the Philadelphia Phillies before this season, says he received mixed messages from Ruben Amaro, Jr. upon his departure.

The 30-year-old signed a one-year, $5.5 million deal with the Colorado Rockies.

"Would I would have liked to come back? Yeah, why not," Kendrick said of the Phillies. "It's the only place I know. But I was also excited to go somewhere else. These guys were interested -- very interested. You always want to be somewhere you're wanted. That was the main thing. Philly didn't want me, and these guys wanted me. That's the way it worked out."

Kendrick knew early in the offseason that he wouldn't be returning to the Phillies.
 
"Ruben called me about a week after the season and said we're going to go in a different direction, we're going to go younger," Kendrick said, "and then he signs Aaron Harang and Jerome Williams. So I was like, (huh). That's the way it is. Honestly I think it's just part of the game and wanted some different faces. That's the way it goes."