MLB Trade Deadline: Top 5 candidates with predictions

3. Matt Kemp, OF

In the volatile world of Matt Kemp, 2011 must feel like a long time ago. That year, the Dodgers outfielder bestrode the baseball universe as it’s emperor; a five-tool wizard who, despite playing on a pretty lousy team, fell just one home run shy of joining the hallowed 40-40 club.

Since then, Kemp’s progress has been stunted by nagging injuries, Los Angeles’ infamous outfield logjam, and the attendant lack of faith displayed in him by Dodgers management. All told, this prolonged soap opera has left the former MVP as more of a beleaguered reserve than “face of franchise.”

Kemp, whose meteoric rise to dominance was rewarded with a gargantuan eight-year, $160m contract in late 2011, has only appeared in 274 of the 363 regular season games since the ink dried. His production has declined in a similar manner, the once-mighty slugger hitting just 6 home runs in 73 games in 2013 and eight so far this season. Similarly, in the past two-and-half campaigns combined, Kemp has stolen just 22 bases, barely half of his typical output during those distant prime years.

This difficult period has also seen Kemp trumped as baseball’s defining offensive icon, with teammate Yasiel Puig and crosstown rival Mike Trout casting a long shadow over him, and contemporaries such as Miguel Cabrera showcasing the longevity which Kemp lacks.

However, we’ve seen intermittent flashes of his precocious talent in 2014, if not the consistent exhibitions of it which so illuminated baseball a short while ago. Through 95 games this year, Kemp has a .277/.343/.432 slash line, with 8 homers, 22 doubles and 40 RBI. He’s been comparatively healthy, and displayed enough enthusiasm to maintain the interest of GM’s across the league.

Ned Colletti, his long time boss, just doesn’t seem to be one of those enamored by Kemp’s comeback attempts. Based on which reports you choose to read, the Dodgers GM has either shopped Kemp aggressively, or at least shown a willingness to ease his outfield conundrum by flipping the addled star for impact pitching. Similarly, Kemp’s testy relationship with manager Don Mattingly, who, tired of dealing with the saga, has refused to play Matt in his favored centre field, will likely expedite a trade away from Los Angeles, with Boston, Seattle and even Cleveland rumored to have legitimate interest in the two-time All-Star.

PREDICTION: Contract hampers any potential deadline trade.

Ultimately, Matt Kemp is no longer the megastar described by his mammoth salary. At 29, with a lengthy injury record, rumored attitude problems, and $118m remaining on a contract that runs through 2019, many organisations could simply do without the hassle of employing him.

Whilst his sensational potential, evidenced by three or four seasons of sublime performance, is enough to warrant interest (most understandably from the Red Sox, who view Kemp’s skill-set as absolutely ideal for destroying Fenway Park, but will likely balk at altering their cautious approach to acquiring superstars merely to accommodate him), that contract will be a millstone around the Dodgers’ neck. Eventually, they have to stop eating titanic amounts of cash. Matt Kemp may be the one high-priced mistake Los Angeles is forced to account for, rather than carelessly shipping him away to cause mischief elsewhere.