4:31pm: MLB.com’s Mark Bowman implies that talks between the two sides aren’t especially active at the moment, tweeting that “if the Braves revisit” Kemp discussions with the Padres, then San Diego would “seemingly have to be willing” to take on the remaining money owed to Hector Oliver in a swap of bad contracts. Currently serving a suspension under MLB’s domestic violence policy, Olivera is owed $28.5MM from 2017 through 2020.
3:34pm: The Padres are working to trade Matt Kemp and are willing to eat the vast majority of the money he is owed, reports ESPN’s Jim Bowden (via Twitter). The Braves are one of two teams to which San Diego is currently talking he adds. FOX’s Ken Rosenthal tweets that he hears similar chatter. The Padres are working to move Kemp, and they’ve talked to the Braves, who are looking for ways to add to their offense.
Kemp, 31, is owed $21.5MM in each of the next three seasons, and the Padres are on the hook for $18MM of that sum on an annual basis. (The Dodgers are picking up the other $3.5MM in each of those seasons.) Trading him has long seemed like a difficult feat, as Kemp’s considerable power is largely negated by his poor defense and his difficulty getting on base. Though he’s clubbed 24 homers this season, Kemp is hitting .262/.285/.489 overall, which translates to just a few ticks above the league-average batting line, per park-adjusted metrics like OPS+ and wRC+.
The Braves have, in the past, been said to be willing to take on large contracts in order to acquire meaningful prospects from a trading partner. It seems unlikely, however, that the rebuilding Padres, who have been accumulating as much minor league talent as possible as of late, would give up any of their top-tier talent to shed Kemp’s deal. From a speculative standpoint, the Braves could look to utilize Nick Markakis’ contract to balance out some of the salary involved, though taking on Markakis could prove troublesome for the Padres, who undoubtedly would like to give slugging corner outfield prospect Hunter Renfroe a chance to bring his career .323/.351/.594 batting line at Triple-A to the Majors.
Matt Kemp is bad at baseball. The Braves are bad a baseball. Good fit there.
Yet that bad ATL baseball team is 8-4 against the Marlins. Go fig.
I’m a Phillies fan lol, but still doesn’t change the fact the Braves (and Matt Kemp) make no sense of each other
Yeah, I would have Stanton on my pic too if I were a Phils fan. LOL
No sense? We don’t know what the deal would entail. ATL needs power (esp. from RH batters), we need marketable players, Kemp’s offense should increase outside of Petco and could provide some protection for Freeman, and although we have money to spend come 2017, salary savings to get that power would help by way of SD taking on future contract (i.e. Markakis, Olivera) or assuming partial costs rather than striking a FA deal. There’s not much in free agency this year, so considering Kemp a change-of-scenery kind of guy, depending on the contract, isn’t the worst idea.
I don’t like your first comment, but I 100% agree on your second Brixton, I absolutely do not want to see Kemp in a braves uni
I agree Run, have been mentioning Kemp $40M for Markakis with pieces mixed in for months.
Brixton has been in the chat for a long time and has said he’s a Phills fan
JS
Kemp is very underrated. His defense in RF isn’t that horrible and his power production is as good or better than San Diego could have hoped for. I think trading him is about fighting at bats for Renfroe, Margot, Dickerson and Jankowski.
Not sure Olivera is a great return with his off-field struggles. Does Preller envision him playing 2b?
Lmao
The Braves are rebuilding the right way. Accumulating pitching, jumping at chances to add premiere prospects like Swanson, holding on to their controllable players like Teheran and Vizcaino. In three years, they’ll be back to running that division, or at least in the playoff hunt season to season, in my opinion.
Braves would actually receive Kemp from San Diego and Puig from Los Angeles. San Diego receives Hector Olivera from the Braves. Los Angeles would receive Nick Markakis from the Braves and Jorge Ona from San Diego.
What.
Now there’s a name I haven’t heard in a while lol
Kemp back to the Dodgers for a gross of beachballs, Pads pay all the salary?
I’ve liked most of the Braves’ trades, but I hope they stay away from Kemp unless there’s a lot more to this than is known.
Power & marketing. I’m not totally against the idea, depending on more details.
Not that my $.02 matters, but I’m confident in Choppy and his plans/moves.
Kemp with 95% paid for by the Pads for Dykstra. Literally giving them more than that is an overpay.
Don’t want him even if they pay his entire contract he should be in the AL
What a terrible idea for the Braves. There’s not much to like about an aging overpaid Matt Kemp
To be fair, he’s only 31. Doesn’t qualify as “aging”. Give it a few years.
If he isn’t already on his decline id hate to see him in a few years
I trust coppy to make a good deal for the braves, kemp would be a good addition if Padres eat most of his contract
I’m ok with this idea if we don’t have to give up too much. Gives us another RH bat and balances out our primarily LH hitting outfield. Markakis needs to stay until this winter though, as he is starting to rebuild his value.
Just what young pitchers need a guy who doesn’t belong in the OF making life harder than it should be
What if it clears Aybar instead of Markakis? Defense is improved. Inciarte and Smith are both glove side to LF so that can make up for range issues Kemp could possibly have. Defensive metrics are garbage in my opinion and I admittedly haven’t seen Kemp play OF in a while. I like the potential. I’ll just leave it at that.
As a braves fan, I don’t really want Kemp. The free agent class this offseason is better.
What free agent outfielders are better? I just looked at the list of free agent outfielders and shuddered at the thought of one of them wearing a Braves uniform next year.
Literally all of them are better than Kemp
There’s a few that could be very interesting including Michael Saunders in a breakout season, but he’s having a career-year and has had injuries in his past. Trumbo is a safe bet for power from the right-side, along with bad defense (though not sure how much worse he’d be than Kemp).
Saunders isn’t better than Matt Kemp. Some of you have a great misconception of value because of WAR is my guess? It is not the best quantifier for every players value. Matt Kemp has become greatly underrated and a steal if Padres pick up most his salary. We’ll see. Not many 30 homer bats on the market this deadline.
One 30 homer bat might be Michael Saunders, who is defiantly better than kemp, at least this year he is
Cespedes, Fowler, Gomez, Reddick, Desmond, Trumbo for pure power
The only one really worth anything (and not worth what he’ll end up being paid) is Bautista. I can see Atlanta making a run at him for RF, if a deal w/ Kemp goes nowhere. Kemp is 3rd in NL OF in HR’s, Frenchy is the highest Brave with 6.
I’ve thought for awhile that they would go above anyone else, offer wise, for Bautista in the off season.
He’ll be given a QO, and the Braves’ pick will be protected barring some miracle turnaround in season.
If the Padres pay the majority of Kemp’s deal, the Braves could potentially flip him much like the Padres did with Upton.
Not a bad idea. If they do make a trade w/ SD/LA picking up most of the money, you could keep him in RF in 2017 or trade him in the off season and get a FA pickup.
Keeping him in RF in 2017 would allow a Markakis trade in the off season.
I don’t see the problem, especially if San Diego is absorbing most of this contract. If he plays up to snuff next year, the Braves can trade him at deadline and not have to worry about eating salary. In other words, they get the prospects for a player the Padres are paying to be on ours or anyone’s roster that isn’t theirs
Why wouldn’t the Padres do that themselves do you maybe think its because they know hes got arthritis in his hips?
I think everyone knows he has arthritis in his hips. My grandma asked me how his hips were last week.
But on a serious note. The Padres can’t do it themselves as they’re the ones paying his contract. The scenario only works if say, LA was paying Kemp’s contract and the Padres were unloading him for prospects. He’s shown he’s still healthy and he can play at least one more season in the outfield.
Preller’s initial plan didnt work (loading up on stars) so now it’s plan B. Salary dumps and call up prospects for auditions and look to ’17.
Are you aware how arthritis works it is in most cases as in Kemp’s degenerative hes not going to get better next year with out the help of a needle and illegal substances. Why in the world would you knowingly take on someone who has a degenerative condition with the idea of flipping him.
Yes I know how it works as i suffer from it. Thanks for reminding me. We don’t know what techniques he’s using for it and you assume entirely too much.
You take him on because he’s still hitting and still playing the field. There’s value in there regardless of how blinded you are by his sexy hips.
I mean, in theory David Ortiz can play RF too. Doesn’t make him anymore valuable because of it. Same concept. Kemp can play the outfield, but hes terrible at it.
Well first thats an awful analogy and a fallacy if I’ve ever seen one and here’s why. 1. it’s not a theory as Kemp is still playing in the field. 2. Ortiz can’t even in theory play first. 3. watching Kemp play leftfield would be infinitely more exciting than the Gattis experiment a few years back.
Kemp is playing the field at an absolutely terrible level. David Ortiz would play the field at an absolutely terrible field. There is your connection.
Matt Kemp can’t walk or play the outfield at a passable level (hence why the only NL team that has had any type of connection has been the worst team in the league).
Sigh… ok so for the remedial. The Braves need a filler for next year as Markakis has lost all his power. Kemp will compensate. It gives Freddie protection in the lineup he needs. The Braves don’t need Kemp for an entire season. There’s an entire league outside of the NL that uses players as just batters. More than that there is a position outside of the outfield by which a person of limited range can move too. Its the same position that Ortiz can’t even in Theory play, first base.
I can’t make you see the value any more than Coppy or Hart can. You and Niekro have made your case. Rather weak one at that. So we can safely say we agree to disagree.
Just wait. If Kemp is traded it will be to an AL team and they will use him strictly at DH just as Ortiz is used today.
Kemp’s arthritis was known before he was traded to the Padres and much discussed at that time. The reason it wasn’t a concern is because arthritis is not commonly a real problem before the age of 40.
So Kemp is going to play Freeman’s position and also back him up in the lineup? Mallex Smith isn’t going to play either when you want to mow Kemp out into LF?
wat?
This wouldn’t be the worst thing in the world if the Padres eat most of his contract. I’d much rather have Kemp than Puig.
As much as I don’t like this trade from a braves perspective, I kinda hope something goes down because I want to see the young Padre’s outfielders
How does the “bad contract swap” of Markakis for Kemp advance the interests of either team?
Depends which team you are asking about.
I don’t see where it does, which is why I asked the question.
Sorry, I did not read your post correct as either team. Braves could use the pop and Padres clear room for Renfroe sooner with Markakis. Just my opinion.
I see the point but it seems to me a team in full rebuilding mode isn’t worried about who they are playing now or even next season. Placeholders are a dime a dozen.
I mean, I guess having a rH power bat hitting 4th (where OBP isn’t too important…sorta) could work out OK, but his overall value is pretty low. So low that unless they are taking Markakis and giving us $3-5m a year it’s barely worth it.
Pass. His defense is gone and his bat is on the way out as well. No need to give up assets so we can have the luxury of him clogging up an OF spot.
He’s only going to hit more homers and RBI’s than all the Braves players this season. So terrible.
Had to laugh as I have brought this trade up for months. I think it is a good deal with Markakis included, both have long been mention for depleted defense. At least this brings pop.
But Markakis is owed one-third of what Kemp is…and Kemp is signed thru 2019.
Well depends on what SD is covering. Kemp at least brings HR. Lacks a bit of average over Markakis, but a decent splash for Sun Trust if not too expensive.
Might not be a bad idea to get Kemp for free if you figure the NL will add the DH next year..
Kemp for Sandoval
Sadly I do see this happening eventually
Braves want Kemp because of his great bat and we would have him through 2019. Would be key piece in our lineup. Braves are gonna be a team in the wild card hunt in 2017 then even better in 2018.
Also it may be a way to get rid of Oliveta
How are the Braves going to be in the WC race next year? Even optimistic projections have them being relevant in 2018 at the earliest.
Had not considered the Olivera angle. He’s owed about $28.5m over the next 4 seasons as compared to Kemp’s $63.5 (with the Padres paying $54m of that)
SO, if the Padres took Olivera, gave the Braves Kemp and say $6m a year the Braves would end up paying a net of $5m extra (or $13m a year) for Kemp….. not the worst thing in the world I guess. doesn’t really seem worth the trade unless they get the Padres to throw in about $8m per season
What do the Padres get that helps them rebuild?
Money they’d save from Matt Kemp
No much, if any, if they are taking on Olivera.
yep. money cleared…. I’m not saying this is some great deal, BUT, if it happened the way I described it, the braves get rid of HO, the Padres add $5m or so a year to their coffers….. very meh. (and honestly, Kemp is pretty much replacement level at this point, the entire thing seems goofy and pointless)
Not if they are also paying Olivera, who is owed about $7.5M for each of the four seasons after this one. And the even more important question is why they’d even want Olivera.
Make the money even and swap markakis and a bullpen arm for kemp.
Markakis is signed through 2018, and is owed half of what Kemp is, before subtracting the share the Dodgers are hooked to pay.
Matt Kemp is a DH being put in the field. He really needs to go the AL.
Kemp for Markakis with SD eating some more of the contract might be OK. Markakis has become a slightly above-average corner OF with minimal power and decent on-base skills. Kemp is a hobbled LF with decent power and no on-base skills. Kemp might bring back some decent prospects if he can be shopped to the AL as a DH in the off-season. Markakis is a nice player but at a price that’s too high and who probably won’t bring back anything decent in return unless the Braves eat a lot of the contract.
So tell me again why the Padres want to make this deal. It sounds like they’d be paying twice for Kemp and getting nowhere.
Jay Bruce is the guy the Braves should be trying to get their hands on. He would be a perfect fit in Atlanta. The asking price also isn’t that high.
Braves bring on Kemp then package him in a 7 player trade to the Halos helping them to restock their much needed Farm for a shot at Trout
How about Markakis and Olivera for Kemp; with no money changing hands?
Isn’t Olivera back from suspension, but in the minors?
The only way that I see a trade for Matt Kemp makes sense to the Braves is if:
1) The braves also acquire Derrick Norris
2) the braves give the Padres Hector Olivera
I’m not a fan of Kemp, but for now I can only think that if the braves are interested in him it is part of some creative deal to fix another issue.
ugh, just realized that I didn’t put an OR between option 1 and option 2. Hopefully no one thought I mean BOTH options 1 and 2.
Looking like this is almost a done deal.
Another thing to consider about Kemp’s lack of defense is that he’d have less ground to cover playing LF in Atlanta with Ender Inciarte in CF. Put him in the 4 hole hitting homeruns from the right side and get Freeman some better pitches to hit.
Olivera is actually owed 52.2 million through 2020. Dodgers are paying 4.67 per year to Atlanta to offset which may not be included in the transaction that would become 54 vs 52 exchange.