Matt Kemp Open to Trade If He Cannot Play Every Day in LA
The Los Angeles Dodgers return to action following the All Star break, on the road against the St. Louis Cardinals.
The Dodgers have worked their way back to the top in the National League West. Los Angeles currently holds a one game lead in the division over the San Francisco Giants
With the All-Star Game now just a thing of the past, all eyes re-focus on the race for the postseason. The Dodgers will be looking to improve their offense through a trade or two prior to the trade deadline.
One possible player the Dodgers could trade is veteran outfielder Matt Kemp. The Dodgers outfield is loaded with talent, but there are only three positions available to play.
If Kemp cannot play every day then he would be open to being traded so he could be in the lineup each day.
The agent for the outfielder, former pitcher in the majors Dave Stewart, said Kemp wants to play every day in center field and if Los Angeles cannot ensure that, that will happe
n, the veteran would consider a trade.
Stewart said Kemp was agreeable to whatever the Dodgers want to do, as long as he is given the opportunity to be in the lineup every day.
Stewart added that Kemp prefers to play in center, but is not opposed to left or right, but hopes to eventually return to center on a regular basis.
Near the end of May, Los Angeles took Kemp out of center field because of defensive reasons. When Carl Crawford hurt his ankle at the end of May, Kemp became the Dodgers left fielder and has played every day since.
Currently Kemp is hitting .269 with 8 homers and 35 RBIs.
Last Thursday, Crawford was recalled from the disabled list and again Los Angeles has five healthy and talented outfielders – Kemp, Crawford, Scott Van Slyke, Andre Ethier and Yasiel Puig.
Van Slyke and Ethier have started most games in center for the Dodgers.
Following the activation of Crawford, Los Angeles manager Don Mattingly announced there were no plans to use Kemp or Crawford in center.
Since the early part of spring training, the number of players in the outfield has been one of the biggest issues on the team.
Kemp at that time declared that he was not a fourth outfielder and would not accept that type of role on the team.
Kemp has another $107 million left on his current contract that runs to 2019. Kemp’s contract does not contain a no-trade clause.
With the Dodgers battling the Giants for first place in the NL West, Mattingly and his coaches must make sure their players are happy as to not cause any problems in the clubhouse or the dugout.
With Los Angeles having one of the best starting rotations in all of baseball, they can focus on strengthening their offense and shaking up the outfield roster might be a way to start.
If Kemp becomes disgruntled down the stretch, he could become a disturbance to the others player on the team.
