Matt Kemp, Right Now, Is Still A Dodger

Real talk: I’m sick of talking about Matt Kemp. I don’t have anything new to say about Matt Kemp. I just want this deal to finally get done so we can all get on with our lives. I want to talk about other things. I want to run Brim’s outstanding look at Chris Hatcher, a guy you’re going to love. I want to really consider the idea of Jimmy Rollins wearing blue.

And yet: We wait. And since it’s been so long, nearly a week now, since we first heard about the Padres deal, and longer than that since the idea first came up, people are understandably getting antsy. They’re wondering what the hold-up is. They’re wondering if the Padres found something wrong in Kemp’s physical and are asking the Dodgers for more or are considering backing out of the deal entirely, a concern that grew only louder when the Padres reportedly agreed to a deal tonight that included a catcher (Rene Rivera) leaving and an outfielder (Wil Myers) coming.

That’s all understandable, but it’s all overblown. Remember above anything else that Kemp’s physical wasn’t even scheduled to take place until yesterday. Why it took so long to happen, I don’t know, but what that means is that it’s only been about 24 hours or so from the time I write this on Wednesday night since the exam has even taken place. That’s not an unreasonably long amount of time for a team to review physical results, especially when the organization has clearly been involved in other areas, too. The Tampa Bay trade isn’t a reaction to the Kemp uncertainty so much as it is the result of the fact that the Padres needed a lot more than one Kemp to kick-start an awful offense, and remember that they got catcher Ryan Hanigan back in that deal as well.

Here’s a tweet from a national reporter saying the physical isn’t expected to be an issue. Here’s another. And another. Farhan Zaidi said as much on the Brandon McCarthy conference call yesterday. This isn’t an issue until it’s an issue, is my point, and it’s not like this is July and missed games are piling up.

This will get done, and if it doesn’t, well, we’ll deal with that unlikely scenario. But under no circumstances should anyone be rooting for Kemp to flunk this thing. “But it will keep him a Dodger,” you may protest. Well, it won’t — they’ll just make a different deal, likely for less return than we’re seeing now — and if it did, you’re left with five  years of a guy who is probably not happy and who has been medically deemed unfit. Good luck with that. Let’s get this thing done.