In 2011, Los Angeles Dodgers’ outfielder Matt Kemp hit .324/.399/.586 with 39 homeruns and 40 stolen bases. He came in second place in NL MVP voting that season, narrowly losing out to Ryan Braun. His combination of power and speed was second-to-none, and he played good defense in centerfield. At 26-years-old, Kemp appeared to be well on his way to becoming a Hall of Fame player.
Following his incredible 2011 season, the Dodgers signed Kemp to an eight-year, $160 million contract, making him the highest paid player in the history of the organization.
Since signing that contract in the 2011 off-season, Kemp’s career has taken a turn for the worse. From a torn labrum in his shoulder, to a very serious ankle injury and multiple hamstring problems, Kemp has struggled mightily with injuries the past two years. In fact, he only played in a combined 179 games between 2012 and 2013.
Not only has he missed a ton of games in recent years, Kemp’s trademark power and speed combination has deteriorated quickly. He stole only nine bases in each of the last two seasons, and while he did hit 23 homeruns and 22 doubles in 403 2012 at-bats, he only hit six homeruns and 15 doubles in 263 at-bats last season.
While Kemp has stayed relatively healthy so far in 2014, his power and speed have yet to return. He is hitting .265/.328/.424 with eight homeruns and five stolen bases. The injuries slowing him down on the base-paths is to be expected, but losing his power as well? That is very unfortunate, especially when the Dodgers are paying him $20 million a season.
Between Kemp, Andre Ethier, Yasiel Puig, Scott Van Slyke and Carl Crawford, the Dodgers are loaded with outfield depth. Kemp is mostly playing left-field now, but with Crawford making his recent return from injury, his playing time is likely to be cut in LF soon as well. This is all without even mentioning top prospect Joc Pederson who is an outfielder destroying Triple-A, and is more than ready to make his big league debut, the Dodgers simply do not have a spot for him.
Trading at least one of these outfielders would make a ton of sense, and according to multiple recent reports, Kemp would like to be the one that is traded if he cannot get consistent playing time in LA.
The Dodgers would obviously love to trade Kemp. Not only is he an incredibly expensive player who is underperforming, they are loaded at his position. Unfortunately, the market is non-existent for underachieving players making $20 million a year until the end of the 2019 season.
If they wish to trade Kemp, the Dodgers will surely have to eat a large portion of his contract, and even then, they should not expect a large return.
There will certainly be teams willing to take a chance on Kemp, but it will have to be at a discounted price. He is unlikely to ever get back to the player who he was in 2011, but a change of scenery could do him some good.
The Chicago Cubs are a team who seem to be in a good position to take a chance on a change of scenery making an impact for Kemp. While the Cubs are struggling along at the major league level once again this season, the future appears to be very bright on the North Side of Chicago. Not only are Anthony Rizzo and Starlin Castro proving themselves to be great players, the Cubs have the most talented minor league system in all of baseball.
3rd baseman Kris Bryant, SS Addison Russell and infielder Javier Baez are each commonly considered to be top ten prospects in the entire game, and all three could easily make the big leagues as soon as next season. INF/OF Arismendy Alcantara has recently been called-up to the majors, and really appears to belong, as he is hitting .290/.324/.548 in his short 7 game big league stay thus far. Outfielders Jorge Soler and Albert Almora are also considered to be top 50 prospects in the game.
Not only do they have the star power at the top of the system, the Cubs have plenty of depth throughout. Simply put, this organization is loaded with young, cost controlled talent.
With all of these young stars expected to make their debuts in the next year or so, the Cubs need to have veteran players ready to help them compete when they arrive. With Justin Ruggiano, Chris Coghlan, Nate Schierholtz and Junior Lake currently holding down the fort in the outfield, that position is an obvious need for upgrade before they can expect to compete.
Kemp would not only become a great veteran leader for the young club, maybe the change of scenery is exactly what he needs to turn his career back around. This would obviously be a risky move for the Cubs, but if they are able to talk the Dodgers into eating enough of his salary, it could easily be one that pays serious dividends down the road. At 29-years-old, Kemp could easily have plenty of productive years remaining.
The Cubs are on the cusp of becoming a competitive team. This could be an incredible buy-low opportunity for them, which simply does not come around very often. With a weak market for costless agent outfielders coming up in the off-season, trading Kemp could be their best chance to improve their outfield before the kids arrive.