Los Angeles Dodgers rumors: Matt Kemp trade could come this winter?
By Hayden Kane
The Los Angeles Dodgers plan to keep Matt Kemp around for the remainder of the 2014 season. The situation between Kemp and the team had gotten progressively uglier over the course of the last couple seasons, a nice little boost in production from Kemp has alleviated those tensions and made him a key player for them once again.
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The hot streak that bumped Kemp’s overall batting line this season up to a stellar .285/.350/.472 made it clear that the Dodgers would not trade the outfielder at last week’s trade deadline. That still leaves manager Don Mattingly with a difficult and crowded situation in the outfield, but he will take it if it means Kemp keeps hitting.
Once the dust has settled on the 2014 season, however, things could be different. Anthony Castrovince of MLB.com wonders if the Dodgers might get serious about trading Kemp and what’s left of his $160 million contract this off-season:
"Of the three L.A. outfielders on colossal contracts (Kemp, Carl Crawford and Andre Ethier), Kemp is the only one coming anywhere close to proving his worth. He’s been one of baseball’s hottest hitters in the second half (1.130 OPS), and the Dodgers could parlay his suddenly revitalized bat into an opportunity to move him and make way for Joc."
Top prospect Joc Pederson will arrive at some point to play center field, while Yasiel Puig is obviously entrenched in right. That might be the context that motivates the Dodgers to see about trading Kemp.
There would be an important difference in those trade negotiations, however. Any trade this past winter would have essentially served as a salary dump. With his recent production, the Dodgers might actually get a team to give up value for Kemp at this point, something that might really motivate them to sell high on a guy who has proven to be so fickle in recent seasons.