Following his strong playoff run with the Washington Nationals, free agent utilityman Howie Kendrick is drawing early interest, according to The Athletic's Brittany Ghiroli.

Kendrick is reportedly being eyed by the Tampa Bay Rays and Miami Marlins, the two teams located in his home state of Florida. Marc Topkin later confirmed the Rays' interest in the veteran right-handed hitter. 

The 36-year-old slashed .344/.395/.572 in 121 regular season games and continued his strong play for the Nationals in the playoffs, collecting 18 hits and a pair of big home runs en route to a World Series title. 

Kendrick spent the past two and a half seasons in Washington after coming over in a trade with the Philadelphia Phillies. Prior to that, he spent two seasons with the Los Angeles Dodgers and nine years with the Angels.

He made $4 million last year and is a veteran of 14 big league seasons.

Kendrick is a native of Jacksonville, Fla.