General Manager Andrew Friedman is making some serious changes to the Los Angeles Dodgers, a team that went 94-68 last season. After an incredibly busy Wednesday filled with multiple trades to acquire Jimmy Rollins, Howie Kendrick and others, and also signing RHP Brandon McCarthy to a four-year contract, Friedman is making moves once again.
Early on Thursday morning the long rumored Matt Kemp to the San Diego Padres trade had been completed. In the deal, the Dodgers sent Kemp and back-up catcher Tim Federowicz to the Padres for catcher Yasmani Grandal, pitcher Joe Wieland and pitching prospect Zach Eflin. The Dodgers will also send the Padres roughly $31 million to help pay for the $107 million remaining on Kemp’s contract.
The Dodgers simply had too many outfielders. Sure, they would have rather dealt Andre Ethier or Carl Crawford, but they simply were not getting much interest on the overpaid and under-performing outfielders. In order to get a fair return, the Dodgers had to make the tough decision to trade away Kemp.
Kemp instantly gives the Padres the productive power bat that they have been looking for. While he has struggled with injuries over the past few seasons, Kemp is still a productive hitter who hit .287/.346/.506 with 25 homeruns in 541 at-bats last season. He was one of the hottest hitters in baseball throughout the entire second half of the season, and still has plenty of life left in his bat.
Grandal is probably the prized piece of the Dodgers’ haul in this trade. The 26-year-old catcher has been inconsistent at the plate (.245/.350/.412) in his short major league career (657 at-bats in throughout three partial seasons), but he is commonly considered one of the best young offensive catchers in the game. Grandal has a great feel for the strike zone, and has an impressive combination of contact skills and power. This acquisition is mostly based on projection, but Grandal has a very high ceiling of an elite level offensive catcher who is also very good defensively. Those guys do not come around very often, and are extremely valuable.
Wieland is a 24-year-old right-handed pitcher who has had a little bit of time in the big leagues. While his performance at the major league level has been less than desirable (5.31 ERA in nine career appearances, seven of which were starts) it is such a small sample size that nothing can seriously be taken from it. Wieland always put up very good numbers in the minors, but has struggled to stay healthy. Eflin is a 20-year-old right-hander who has had some early career success, but has yet to pitch above A-ball. MLB.com ranked Eflin as the 10th best prospect in the Padres’ system.
All in all, this is a good deal for both sides. The Dodgers got a solid return on Kemp, and greatly freed up their log jam in the outfield, while the Padres landed a big-time bat who will certainly help put them on the map.