According to David O’Brien of the Atlanta Journal Constitution, the Padres have agreed to ship veteran outfielder Matt Kemp to Atlanta in exchange for infielder Hector Olivera, which would subtract one bad contract from each team’s payroll while adding another in its place. The deal is still contingent on both players passing a physical.
Kemp, 31, is still owed $21.5M in each of the next three seasons. The Padres are currently paying $18M of that each season, while the Dodgers remain on the hook for the other $3.5M. It’s noted that money will be changing hands in this deal as well, so Atlanta won’t be covering the full remaining price. Any way you slice it though, there’s still a lot of money to be covered.
It’s clear that the Braves still view Kemp as a productive hitter, which isn’t wrong. He’s hitting .262/.285/.489 this season with 24 home runs while playing half his games in Petco Park. That’s very attractive, and Kemp’s star powers might be seen as a way to attract fans to SunTrust Park next season.
Olivera, also 31, still has four years and 28.5M remaining on his contract. That’s obviously a lesser financial hit. Then again, when you factor in Olivera’s off-field baggage and the fact he’s yet to earn a job in MLB, the contract becomes a rather large eyesore. In fact, Olivera is still serving a domestic violence suspension until Aug. 1.
It’s also rumored San Diego will immediately consider designating Olivera for assignment and presumably eating the money just to set up opportunities for younger players. Given that they’ve now traded Kemp, Melvin Upton Jr., Andrew Cashner and Colin Rea, and with reports that Derek Norris is near certain to be traded, it’s a full-on fire sale in San Diego.
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