Dodgers trade Matt Kemp to Padres
The Los Angeles Dodgers have agreed to trade Matt Kemp to the San Diego Padres, according to various media reports.
Kirk Kenney and Dennis Lin of U-T San Diego are reporting that the Padres will receive Kemp and catcher Tim Federowicz in exchange for catcher Yasmani Grandal and two pitching prospects. The Dodgers will also be eating roughly $30 million of the $107 million remaining on Kemp’s contract.
The Padres were contenders in the Pablo Sandoval and Yasmany Tomas sweepstakes earlier this offseason but ultimately missed out on both. They had been open about the fact that they were looking to add a bat to the middle of their lineup, and Kemp will certainly fill that void.
Prior to the trade, the Dodgers had four capable starting outfielders in Kemp, Yasiel Puig, Carl Crawford and Andre Ethier. It’s no surprise that Kemp, who is owed a ton of money and is somewhat of an injury risk, was dealt.
After missing 145 games between 2012 and 2013 due to injuries, Kemp remained healthy last season. He hit .287 with 25 home runs and 89 RBI in 150 games. He turned 30 in September.
