The Matt Kemp trade rumors are heating up at the winter meetings, as the San Diego Padres and Los Angeles Dodgers have been talking about a deal that may include Dee Gordon and a third team and this comes after teams like the Texas Rangers, Baltimore Orioles and Seattle Mariners have shown interest in the outfielder this offseason.
The winter meetings are going on this week and the Dodgers are looking to offload at least one outfielder among Kemp, Andre Ethier and Carl Crawford. Moving one of those players would allow Yasiel Puig and Joc Pederson to get more playing time on a regular basis and would break up the logjam for the Dodgers. Kemp is signed for five years and over $100 million and that means the Dodgers likely would pick up some money in the deal.
The Mariners were mentioned this offseason as one of the teams in contention for Kemp and that interest dated back to last year. The team traded Michael Saunders and needs some outfield depth along with power on offense and Kemp fills both of those needs. The Padres appear to be the front runners if a deal goes down a the winter meetings, as they have been looking at catcher Yasmani Grandal, but right now no deal is imminent. According to Hardball Talk, the Padres are "working hard" on a Kemp trade and this comes after the team also had interest in other outfielders on the market.
The Orioles just lost Nelson Cruz to the Mariners and Nick Markakis to the Braves and that is one of the reason why they are looking at Kemp. The money is tough to reconcile with, but at that price Kemp is not that overpaid, considering that he is 30 and is coming off of a solid season. Kemp bounced back after dealing with injuries the past couple years and if he can play some DH for an AL team, he could be very valuable in a lineup.
The Mariners reportedly are looking at Melky Cabrera as an option, as they would rather add a player without giving up any young pitching. The Mariners reportedly were close to a deal earlier with the Dodgers, but they balked at putting either Taijuan Walker or James Paxton in the deal. The Mariners feel that they are close to contention and that adding another bat is now a priority after signing Nelson Cruz.
Hardball Talk reports that the Orioles and Mariners have cooled on a Kemp deal, but that doesn't mean it can't pick up following the winter meetings. The Orioles had an issue with trading either Kevin Gausman or Dylan Bundy, which mirrors what the Mariners thought. Clearly the Dodgers are asking for quite a bit for Kemp and that could keep a deal from happening. Alex Rios is on the market along with Cabrera and these teams could look at both of those players if Kemp remains in LA or gets traded to the Padres.
