When the Los Angeles Dodgers traded for Matt Kemp during the offseason, the widely held expectation was that they would move to flip him to another team. That didn’t figure to be an easy task, however, given Kemp’s decline over recent seasons and the enormity of his contract.
Unable to find a trade parter for the 33-year-old, the Dodgers opened Spring Training with the former MVP candidate part of the fold. Kemp had flashes of strong play in Cactus League games and fit in well with the clubhouse culture.
Nonetheless, it’s still believed the Dodgers are open to trading Kemp. One possibility that surfaced Saturday was a trade with the Milwaukee Brewers.
But amid a report the Dodgers and Brewers were engaged in trade talks involving Kemp, Milwaukee general manager David Stearns broke from his tradition to publicly refute that any discussions were being held, per Adam McCalvy and Ken Gurnick of MLB.com:
“You guys know my policy, I don’t like commenting on this type of stuff. But given that I don’t want this to be any sort of distraction, I’ll say when I first read it, I thought maybe someone was making an early April Fool’s joke,” Stearns said. “There’s nothing to it.”
Ryan Braun was not specifically mentioned in the trade talks, though because of the Dodgers’ previous interest in Southern California native, speculation went in that direction.
Kemp is owed $21.5 million this season and next. Braun is owed $19 million this year and in 2019, $16 million in 2020 and his contract includes a $15 million mutual option ($4 million buyout) for 2021.
Strictly based on a financial angle, the Dodgers’ possibly trading for Braun and taking on that long-term commitment for an aging player does not fit with how the front office has operated under president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman.
But if the Dodgers feel Braun better fits the roster, that aspect could be overlooked.
