December 18, 2014

Screwing the Dodgers

The Matt Kemp deal between the Dodgers and Padres is on hold for unknown reasons. Kemp took his physical on Tuesday, and the speculation is the Padres found something. However:

As baseball waits on the Padres’ next move, Yahoo! Sports’ Jeff Passan noted Wednesday that new Padres GM A.J. Preller comes from the Rangers organization, and that is significant “because Texas, where Preller grew his executive chops, has in the past used medical concerns as a way to rework deals at the last minute.”

It could also be the Wil Myers deal changed the Padres thinking. Maybe they don’t need Myers and Kemp. If the Kemp deal falls apart, so does the Dodgers deal with the Phillies for Jimmy Rollins. The Padres and Dodgers, after all, compete in the same division. If SD can use a medical excuse to nix the trade and put the Dodgers in a weakened position, might they do that? It would certainly be an evil plan.

Of course, Ken Rosenthal indicates the Padres do want Kemp, so in fact San Diego likely just wants a little more from the Dodgers.

Update: The latest news is Kemp has arthritic hips.

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