Top 5 Potential Road Blocks To a Matt Kemp Trade With San Diego

The Dodgers and Padres are talking about a trade for outfielder Matt Kemp. I don’t like it anymore than you do, but during this current winter of Dodger fan’s discontent this could become a real thing. The two clubs are discussing a multi-player trade that could see the Dodgers acquiring catcher Yasmani Grandal.

Sure the switch-hitting catcher would be a good fit behind the plate for the Dodgers. He’s young, cost controlled, and has some pop in his bat. He can even play some first base occasionally. But is he worth Matt Kemp’s return value?

While some fans maybe salivating at the idea of getting a Grandal, or top prospect Austin Hedges, or a solid reliever like a Kevin Quackenbush, most of us are scared that this might actually come to fruition. But there are quite a few hiccups that could be preventing the two clubs from striking a deal.

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Here are the top five things that could be preventing the Dodgers and Padres from making a trade centering around Matt Kemp.

1. Kemp’s huge contract.

As Ken Rosenthal initially reported, Kemp’s bloated contract could be a very big sticking point. Kemp is still owed another five years and 107 million dollars on his contract. The Padres may not be able to afford much of that. So if the Dodgers do want to make a deal work, they may have to eat a sizeable portion of Kemp’s contract.

1. Concerns regarding Kemp’s ability to play center field

This could be a bigger concern than you may think. The Padres could just play him in right field, but Kemp has insisted that he still wants to play center field. The Dodgers had to move him out of center field because he was unable to catch anything. San Diego’s Petco Park has a lot of outfield ground to cover. Could this effect a potential deal?

1. Concerns that San Diego may not be able to provide enough value.

Kemp may not be the player he was in his MVP runner-up season of 2011, but he is still a very solid middle of the order hitter. He has 25-30 home run power, and should get on base at an above league average clip. The Dodgers would be losing a lot of right handed power in their lineup. Do the Padres have enough to cover his full return value? Yasmani Grandal is a good young catcher, but is he alone worth Kemp’s offense? Do the Padres have enough to offer the Dodgers to equal Kemp’s value?

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1. Concerns About Kemp’s injury history

Before Kemp started blowing out his hamstrings, and running into walls, he had played in 399 consecutive games. That streak led the majors. Since then Kemp has been riddled with injuries. He’s missed significant amounts of time from 2012-2014 with serious hamstring, shoulder, and ankle injuries. Those injuries have hampered his abilities. He’s definitely lost some of his speed. He doesn’t steal bases anymore like he used to, and he can’t play center field. San Diego has to be at least mildly concerned about his potential rustiness.

1. The Dodgers and Padres rarely make trades

It would be weird seeing the Dodgers and Padres making a trade, let alone a huge trade for a major player like Matt Kemp. That’s because the two division rivals don’t like each other. The Dodgers and Padres don’t make many trades. They have a long history of animosity that pre-dates the incident in 2013. It would be strange to see Kemp traded to a division rival like San Diego. Could bad blood between the two clubs halt the deal?

The odds are against a trade like this happening, and here are the reasons above that could derail a deal. However, the talks continue, and the longer the talks continue, the more likely a trade could actually happen.