Dodgers Digest Los Angeles Dodgers Baseball Blog
Oh look, another post about still-Dodger Matt Kemp, this time regarding his hips.
The holdup in Matt Kemp trade is because the physical revealed arthritis in both hips. The #Padres continue to consult medical experts.
— Bob Nightengale (@BNightengale) December 18, 2014
So, that’s not great. This is new information, as we already knew about his shoulder and ankle concerns, but this is the first we’re hearing about any issues with his hips. Kemp is clearly 78 years old.
This will add to the panic of “the trade is going to fall through,” but it also makes the “I hope the trade falls through,” folks look foolish. If the trade does fall through, prepare for all hell to break loose. I’m guessing the relationship between Kemp and the front office is beyond repair, and things would get all kinds of awkward.
Matt Kemp's agent, Junior Spivey, says of trade, "Everything is OK. We're just waiting on the final details. Should be good to go."
— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) December 18, 2014
First of all, it’s awesome that Junior Spivey is an agent. Second, there’s reason to believe that things are going to be alright.
Buster Olney said the medical concerns could put the Padres in a position to get more out of the agreed-upon deal from the Dodgers. I, and Mike, questioned the viewpoint. Now, it makes a little more sense. Still, both teams want this deal to go down. The Padres want a legitimate hitter and the Dodgers don’t need the drama associated with Kemp coming back (not with him, directly, just the situation).
And some tweets from Rosenthal about what might happen if the deal were to fall through:
Regarding @BNightengale report about Kemp having arthritis in both hips: This situation threatens to turn very ugly if deal falls through.
— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) December 18, 2014
Information damages Kemp in public realm. Gives appearance of #Padres trying to leverage medical information. And is a violation of HIPAA.
— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) December 18, 2014
“HIPAA” … good one, Ken.
If deal falls apart, #Dodgers almost certainly would respond in strongest possible fashion.
— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) December 18, 2014
Fun! (Not even close to fun)
Much ink has been spilled about Kemp’s subpar defense (rightly or wrongly), and arthritis in both hips might not play toward the end of his contract. If the trade goes through, perhaps the Padres look to shift him to first base, eventually. If not, perhaps the Dodgers try to send Kemp to an American League team. I’m rather confident Kemp won’t be a Dodger next season, no matter what happens later today (hopefully).
Don’t worry about the Jimmy Rollins trade. There’s no way the Phillies are dead-set on getting Zach Eflin for him. The Dodgers could substitute Zach Lee, Chris Reed or another pitcher — along with Tom Windle — to get him. Rollins will be a Dodger, officially, soon. If they don’t end up with Yasmani Grandal after all this, that would be the worst thing for them. I still expect the deals to still happen, but there could be a minor alteration if Kemp’s hips are as bad as it might sound. Then again, I’m no medical professional and this could all be getting blown out of proportion because of teh panic.
Kemp is going to play the outfield next season. He looked fine in the second half while posting a 170 wRC+, also known as the second-best number in the majors. If he did that with two arthritic hips, the Padres are getting a hell of a hitter — but we already knew that.
Don’t fret too much. Fret if this trade actually falls through. That would be the worst-case scenario because the Dodgers don’t end up with the pieces they want, salary relief and a potentially broken right fielder who may or may not be OK to play the position long-term. That’s not a situation anyone wants.
