Matt Kemp is not ready to give up on playing in the majors just yet, and he is hoping the Miami Marlins will have a roster spot for him at the start of the 2020 season.
Kemp has agreed to a minor-league deal with the Marlins, and USA Today’s Bob Nightengale reports that the team will give him every opportunity to make the Opening Day roster.
Outfielder Matt Kemp, a 3-time All-Star, has agreed to a minor league deal with the Miami #Marlins with an invitation to their big-league training camp. The Marlins are giving him every chance to crack opening day roster. He’s reunited with manager Don Mattingly.
— Bob Nightengale (@BNightengale) December 18, 2019
Kemp played for Marlins manager Don Mattingly when the two were with the Los Angeles Dodgers, so there is plenty of familiarity there. He is also said to be in great physical shape.
In 20 games in the majors with the Cincinnati Reds last season, Kemp hit .200 with one home run and an on-base percentage of just .210. However, he had a solid season when he returned to the Dodgers in 2018, when he played in 146 games and batted .290 with 25 homers, 85 RBI and an OPS of .818. The Marlins took virtually no risk by signing him, so they are hoping they will get something closer to the 2018 version of Kemp.
