MLB NEWS/RUMORS Thread

Thank you for all your support. Enough of you guys keep paying them Spectrum fees and we can get another reliever at the deadline.

 

Inert gas finds this offensive.

 

preparing myself for the inevitable brett anderson signing

 

“We got some athletes out here... except Kemp” - Andrew Toles during some OF drills with Kemp there on backstage Dodgers. Pretty funny

 

kemp probably still trying to figure out if toles was kidding or not lol

 

and right on cue
albeit spring training, kemp has already exceeded expectations (then again fwiw, so has grandMal)
sure i'm not alone, but i don't expect kemp's production to continue
then again, i've been wrong many times before (like that time with the hooker in haiti, but i digress)
there was an interesting thought here and i believe it was @ColoradoKidWitGame who brought it up...
kemp could possibly be a productive player if given enough/regular playing time
conversely, it is pretty much guaranteed he wouldn't do well as a bench player
can't believe i'm about to say this but...
at the very least, kemp should be given a platoon spot with toles in lf
if not, he should be sent down to ensure he gets regular ab's

Matt Kemp might open season in Dodgers starting lineup
Sporting News — 17 March 2018

Starting in left field for the Los Angeles Dodgers … Matt Kemp?

That scenario seemed very unlikely when the Dodgers brought back the veteran outfielder for his second stint with the team. The Dodgers acquired Kemp in a five-player deal with the Braves in December in an accounting move to help them stay under the $197 million luxury tax for 2018.

Kemp was not even expected to be in LA this season, but the Dodgers found no takers for his two-year, $43.5 million contract.

Yet Kemp has been turning heads in camp. Count manager Dave Roberts among those who have been pleasantly surprised.

"When we acquired him, we didn't know what kind of shape he was in," Roberts said (via the Los Angeles Times). "We went on what he looked like last year. … The way he came in initially made a statement in itself."

The 33-year-old Kemp, who played nine years for the Dodgers before leaving as a free agent after the 2014 season, is tied for the team lead this spring with four home runs. He has an impressive 1.091 OPS in 36 at-bats.

Roberts would not say whether Kemp has even earned a spot on the roster, but said he's shown he's more than a platoon player in left field.

"Absolutely," Roberts said. "That's the thing with Matt. In '16, he dominated left-handers, and in '17, it was the other way. He's definitely not, nor has he ever been, a platoon guy. It's just more of the right situation using him and the other guys the right way. You look at that position, 650 plate appearances, it's our job to figure out how to divvy those things up."

For his part, Kemp said he did what needed to be done in the offseason.

"I'm a grown man. I needed to get in better shape," Kemp said. "I did it. I feel better. It just feels good to be back wearing this uniform."

So while this may not be the same Kemp who made a couple of All-Star teams and won two Gold Gloves in his first stint in LA, his big bat (259 career home runs, .826 OPS) makes a great team even better.

"When you make the trade, and you look at the season that guys had last year, and who we had coming back, we were already a very good team without Matt," Roberts said. "But to have a former All-Star in as good a shape he has been in in years, and to add him to the mix, it only increases the level of competition and play for everyone around him. That's good for all of us."​

 

He will not be a platoon.
Kemp is not a platoon player.
He can hit against bith types of pitchers.
Dave wont commit to Kemp being on the roster but he said that if Kemp plays it will not be part of a platoon but as the regular LF.

 

I want toles to play as well.
CF hopefully