Los Angeles Dodgers ship LF/2B Howie Kendrick to Philadelphia Phillies

Howie Kendrick was unhappy with his role with Los Angeles, so the Dodgers did something about that by trading Kendrick to the Philadelphia Phillies for Darin Ruf and Darnell Sweeney, the teams announced Friday.

The 33-year-old Kendrick, who can play second base or left field, will earn $10 million in 2017 and will be a free agent after the season. He becomes the Phillies' highest-paid position player.

The Dodgers were able to rid themselves of a disgruntled player as well as a big salary. But Phillies general manage Matt Klentak was looking for players who were owed a lot of money and were on a short-term contract, according to philly.com.

Kendrick had his worst season in the majors in 2016, hitting .255 with eight homers and a .691 OPS. He hit over .290 each of his three previous seasons.

Ruf and Sweeney were no longer in Klentak's plans. The 30-year-old Ruf, who plays first base and left field, was in the minors for much of the 2016 season and hit .205 with three homers in 43 games for the Phillies. The 25-year-old Sweeney, who can play multiple positions, spent the entire 2016 season playing for Triple-A Lehigh Valley, hitting .233 with three homers.