December 16, 2017

Injury Blockbuster

The headline on this story describes the Braves trade with the Dodgers as a blockbuster, but it really just seems to be a salary dump as a bunch of injured and/or not very good players trade places:

Matt Kemp is heading back to Los Angeles and the path is officially cleared for superstar prospect Ronald Acuña after the Atlanta Braves and Los Angeles Dodgers completed an expensive five-player blockbuster.

Los Angeles sent veteran pitchers Brandon McCarthy and Scott Kazmir, utility option Charlie Culberson, first baseman Adrian Gonzalez and cash considerations to Atlanta in exchange for Kemp. The Braves immediately designated Gonzalez, who waived his no-trade clause to complete the transaction, for assignment to allow him a chance to earn significant playing time somewhere in 2018. Atlanta’s 40-man roster is now full.

The Dodgers reportedly sent $4.5 million to balance the two salary dumps.

So the Dodgers can now dump Kemp and in one move pull themselves under the salary cap. If they stay healthy, Kazmir and McCarthy, but their injury history argues against that. Gonzalez was released by the Braves, and becomes a free agent.

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