Padres – The Price You Pay
The rumors will not go away, that there is a deal on the table for Los Angeles Dodgers power hitting outfielder Matt Kemp.
The former MVP had a strong second half of the season, after 18-months of injuries, five different ones.
He drags with him bad medical reports, and 5-years left on a 107M-contract given to him when he was at the peak of his game.
Other teams are interested, but alot of the risks do not make sense.
If the Dodgers move Kemp and his contract, it shoots holes in their batting order. Who is going to protect Adrian Gonzalez and Yasiel Puig?
Rumors here at the Winter Meetings say LA would use Kemp money to go after Jon Lester, being courted by all the big money teams.
The Dodgers have already lost big bat Hanley Ramirez, and this Kemp to San Diego move, means even less big bats. Do you think you can ask your staff to pitch (2-1) games every night?
As for the Padres, asking this. If Kemp stays healthy, can he hit home runs in a park known for power alley fly ball outs?
Add to that is the price San Diego pays. Yes Yasmani Grandal is expendable, but LA wants good young pitching too. If San Diego has to part with top young arms, does it strip your pitching depth, for a high priced risk player?
Remember, Ian Kennedy can walk in a year. Andrew Cashner has shown no interest in re-siging here, so you could be two arms down within a year.
And of course, if the money rumors are true, the Dodgers might pay 30M owed to Kemp, which means San Diego takes on 5-years-77M left on the deal. Do the math, that’s 15M per year for a home run bat, in a tough to hit home run park, with a history of ankle-foot injuries.
Risk-reward here if this deal comes down in the next 24-hours.
Maybe LA is taking a risk too. Grandal did have that major knee injury, and has yet to be a 6-day a week catcher since the surgery.
Baseball sources say the Padres want to make a ‘splash’. They tried but did not get Pablo Sandoval, Yasmany Tomas, or even Adam LaRoche.
Padres splash. Just don’t jump into the wrong end of the pool.
