The Reds have released infielder/outfielder Tony Kemp, per his transactions tracker at MLB.com. He had previously signed a minor league deal with the club and that pact allowed him to opt out if not on the roster by March 23. The Reds announced yesterday that he had been reassigned to minor league camp.
Whether he triggered his opt-out or the club proactively let him go to find his next club, the end result is the same. Kemp is now a free agent again and will look around to find his next gig.
The Reds have a fairly crowded position player mix, even though infielder Noelvi Marté was recently hit with an 80-game PED suspension and outfielder TJ Friedl is set to miss extended time due to a wrist fracture. They still have Jeimer Candelario, Elly De La Cruz, Matt McLain and Christian Encarnacion-Strand to take regular infield roles, as Spencer Steer, Jake Fraley and Will Benson could be taking the outfield playing time. Jonathan India could be moving between the infield and outfield while all that group rotates through the designated hitter spot. Players like Stuart Fairchild and Nick Martini are on the roster and could take on bench/depth roles.
With all of those options on hand, a couple of veterans on minor league deals have been squeezed out. Another veteran utility guy, Josh Harrison, opted out of his minor league deal yesterday after being informed he wouldn’t be making the club. Both he and Kemp will be hoping to find new clubs in the coming days, presumably ones with cleaner paths to playing time.
Kemp, 32, had a solid run with the Athletics over the past four years. He limited his strikeouts to a very low rate of 11.7% while also drawing walks at a healthy 10.5% clip. He didn’t do too much damage, hitting just 20 home runs in 1,488 plate appearances, but his contact approach led to a .240/.330/.345 batting line and 97 wRC+.
Unfortunately, his most recent season was the weakest of those four, as he hit just .209/.303/.304 last year for a 77 wRC+. But he still proved useful in other ways, stealing 15 bases while splitting his time between second base and left field. His glovework has been considered around average in left with the metrics split on his defense at the keystone. He has eight Outs Above Average as a second baseman in his career but -17 Defensive Runs Saved.
No surprise. Not sure why he was signed to begin with. He wasn’t going to AAA and there was no room at the inn.
Oh, maybe just maybe to fill out the ST roster. Hard to play split squads if you only have a 26 man roster.
And oh, maybe just maybe to guard against ST injuries. You lose a couple of players to injury, or maybe to an 80 game suspension that you couldn’t possibly see coming, and you have someone who is somewhat competent to man a position.
India is emerging as a power.
Let him find a healthy role at DH and he will put up some desirable numbers. Dudes been hurt his whole career
India is at the forefront of Information Technology.
What?
Feel like he might just hang up the cleats here. Wasn’t he the guy that had a long talk with his wife recently about continuing with his career only if he found a consistent place to play and was making good money?
Sounds like every ballplayer I ever knew lol.
Hope for the best for TK! A man of really good character who is easy to root for.
Seemed like an odd place for him from the start. Somebody will call him as injuries mount.
Krall has tried to account for lots of eventualities. Signing Harrison, Kemp, etc. was prudent then- but not relevant now. So he gives them their walking papers a couple of days before their optout and people just cannot figure it out..It’s called good business practice.. BTW, wish Tony and Josh the best- somewhere else.
Agreed; it was also with the Marte suspension in mind (before it was made public).
I know why reds brought em in. I just don’t understand why those guys chose cincy thou with all the competition
I love when we complain about the Reds signing washed MLB players and then know-it-alls on here are like “ThEy NeEd MiNoR lEAgUe DePtH yOu DuMmY” and then the Reds release the players when they’re inevitably not good enough to make the team.
Every fanbase has their individuals with their knee-jerk “dumpster-diving” reactions. In their heads, signing player X to a MiLB deal means they won’t sign a desired MLB player. Minor league deals are complaint fodder for them.
And the Reds didn’t go after the SP/OF help they need so….
No need to sign MiLB deals with guys that aren’t going to make the team and won’t want to play in AAA anyway. Give a younger player that deal.
Meanwhile we see Hunter Greene knocked around by the Angels again and can’t make it through five again. Nothing has changed in year three.
I agree that is worrisome. I would have thought he would have taken off more by now.
Why are fans complaining about anything here related to Kemp?
My original post isn’t complaining about Kemp, per se. It’s complaining about other posters on here who act like they know more than others.
Now he’s off to smoke hemp
No wonder why you’re shadow banned
Kemp is a class act. An usher in KC told me the previous night he’d been in the stands in full uniform chatting and signing for fans for the A’s fans and others in attendance. I know the joke is on home fans not showing up. But a lot of A’s fans travel 4 hour or more to KC to see them in the road. Respect for him!
class act seems to be a understatement…….4 straight Clemente Award nominations
All those A’s players were great on the road. Brent Rooker kept feeding my 9 year old balls during BP…would walk over and just keep at my son. Chat with him. There was hardly anyone there at that point. My son had 7 or 8 balls. That had to have been an awful situation for those A’s players.
Tony Kemp has probably the Clementes for a lot of reasons. But the people in KC love him. Those ushers down by the dugout see every player. For them to react so positively is impressive.
Both Tony Kemp and Josh Harrison are good guys. Thoroughly enjoyed their time on the A’s. Super friendly with fans, so I’ll always root for them.
I was about to say something similar (though I don’t know much about the A’s).. hope they both land on their feet
He would be welcomed by the Toronto fans. Problem is; there seems to be a lineup ready to play at second….how is his play at third?
They are getting close to having room for JD Martinez.
deGrom – I’m eating Kemps fat free frozen yogurt now, never to be released….
Kemp was a good veteran and energy guy for the A’s young players to learn from. Maybe they’ll try to get him back on a low salary deal.