While it was a relatively quiet offseason for the Los Angeles Dodgers, the club still pulled off one of the more surprising trades of the winter with the reacquisition of Matt Kemp from the Atlanta Braves.
Kemp previously spent nine seasons with the Dodgers from 2006-14 before he was traded to the San Diego Padres in one of Andrew Friedman’s first significant moves as president of baseball operations.
The 33-year-old reported to Camelback Ranch on Tuesday morning and joins the likes of Kiké Hernandez, Joc Pederson, Trayce Thompson, Andrew Toles and Alex Verdugo all vying for playing time in left field this season.
Now that he’s back in the fold, manager Dave Roberts is optimistic that Kemp will improve on defense this year, citing his weight loss and added motivation for playing on a team with championship aspirations, via Bill Plunkett of the Southern California News Group:
#Dodgers Dave Roberts said he expects Matt Kemp’s defense to be improved with Kemp in better shape, on a winning team: “I expect it to be a big uptick in metrics this year”
— Bill Plunkett (@billplunkettocr) February 13, 2018
Last season with the Braves, Kemp was statistically the worst defensive outfielder in all of baseball by many metrics. Logging 851.2 innings in left field, he posted a -13.7 UZR/150 and cost his team 17 runs, per DRS.
The Dodgers, however, can optimize Kemp’s experience in the outfield with their reliance on shifts and defensive replacements in the late innings.
While his glove work is less certain, there’s no question that Kemp can still be productive with his bat. He slugged 23 doubles and 19 home runs in just 115 games last season — many of them while battling injuries.
The possibility of Kemp being traded before Opening Day can’t be ruled out either. Though, it will be difficult to convince another team to pick up the majority of his two-year commitment, worth $43.5 million.
