When the MLB Winter Meetings were all done, the trade of Matt Kemp was one of the biggest headlines made. The Los Angeles Dodgers had reportedly completed a deal with the San Diego Padres that sent Kemp packing. The outfielder had been unhappy all of last season regarding his lack of playing time and the deal meant that he could return to being an every-day player. However, a physical revealed some things that the Padres are not happy about which could cause the move to fall apart.
According to USA Today, the San Diego Padres were reviewing the results of Kemp's latest physical and discovered the veteran has arthritis in both of his hips which now has the team considering nulling the trade. The deadline to finalize the deal is Thursday and San Diego plans on taking their time to decide the best move. The deal involved Kemp and Tim Federowicz and $32 million getting sent to San Diego while the Dodgers acquired Yasmani Grandal, Joe Wieland and Zach Eflin. Los Angeles had then planned on trading Eflin and another pitching prospect to the Philadelphia Phillies to acquire Jimmy Rollins. If the entire deal crumbles, Los Angeles is going to have a messy situation on their hands.
San Diego was already not thrilled with the exact terms in the deal for Kemp. ESPN is reporting that Padres manager AJ Preller wanted more money from the Dodgers to help cover the cost of Kemp's $107 million contract obligations. However, the medical information falls under the 1996 Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act which protects patient's medical history from being made public. The Dodgers could then file a grievance against San Diego making a messy situation worse.
The trade of Kemp was supposed to help stabilize the outfield rotation. The Dodgers have an abundance of players at the same positions and Kemp was the best deal they could make. That leaves Andre Ethier, Carl Crawford, Yasiel Puig and Joc Penderson as their remaining rotation. Several of the players had complained over a lack of playing time last season and if the Kemp trade is denied, it would mean either Ethier or Crawford could get sent packing.