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Matt Kemp

Braves Place Matt Kemp On 10-Day DL, Promote Johan Camargo

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The Braves have announced that outfielder Matt Kemp is headed to the 10-day DL. He’ll be replaced on the active roster by infielder Johan Camargo, as David O’Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution first tweeted.

Kemp, who last played on Friday, has been bothered by a hamstring injury. Evidently, it hasn’t improved enough to believe he’ll be ready to return within the next few days. Still, the placement is backdated to April 8th, and with the new ten-day minimum it could be a short absence.

The veteran outfielder was off to a strong start, with eight hits (two of them home runs) in his 17 trips to the plate. The 32-year-old is looking to follow up on his strong numbers upon arriving in Atlanta last summer. Over his 241 plate appearances with the Braves, he slashed .280/.336/.519 with a dozen home runs while dramatically improving his plate discipline numbers (20 walks, 56 strikeouts) after a power-only first half with the Padres.

It’s a somewhat aggressive promotion for Camargo, meanwhile, who only just reached Triple-A. But he’ll likely function as a little-used bench option as he gets his first taste of the majors. Camargo hit just .267/.304/.379 over 491 plate appearances at Double-A last year, but did hit well in MLB camp this spring. The versatile infielder — he’s a switch-hitter who has seen action at short, second, and third in the minors — seems like a long-term possibility for a reserve role, as Eric Longenhagen of Fangraphs wrote in his recent look at the Braves’ farm.

Coppolella On Braves’ Offseason Plans

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In each of the last two years, the Braves completed a major trade (dealing Jason Heyward in 2014 and Andrelton Simmons in 2015) soon after the completion of the GM Meetings.  General manager John Coppolella tells David O’Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution that the club is prepared to again move quickly if another interesting offer comes along, saying that “we’re not going to wait around for any type of artificial date.  I couldn’t care less about (waiting for) the Winter Meetings or whenever.  The best time to make a trade is when a good trade is offered to you.  We’re always trying to find ways to get better.”  Here’s more from Coppolella…

  • Starting pitching is clearly the Braves’ biggest winter need, though Atlanta is only looking for starters on short-term deals so none of the team’s young starters are blocked.  Not that this winter’s free agent market has a true proven ace anyway, but even if it did, Coppolella noted that this type of pitcher wouldn’t be a target.  “You don’t buy No. 1 starters, you grow them.  You draft them, you develop them,” the GM said.  “For us, it’s not efficient for us to go out and buy a No. 1 starter.  Unless something drastically changes, you won’t see us going after a No. 1 starter.”
  • Barring an offer of “something crazy” from another team, Coppolella isn’t looking to deal outfielders Ender Inciarte, Matt Kemp or Nick Markakis.  Not only are the Braves “not out there shopping” these players, “in fact we’re not really even listening on guys.  Because these are players that we really like and we feel like they fit us well on the field as well as off the field.”
  • While Atlanta could pursue a catching upgrade in free agency, Coppolella reiterated that the team would be satisfied with its current Tyler Flowers/Anthony Recker tandem for 2017.  The Braves could also look to trade for a catcher, though a deal to bring Brian McCann back to Atlanta seems unlikely.  Earlier reports claimed the Yankees asked for either Inciarte or Mike Foltynewicz as part of a trade for McCann, and O’Brien reports that, in fact, New York wanted both Inciarte and Foltynewicz.  Needless to say, talks didn’t get very far.

Atlanta Braves: Top 5 Bright Spots of 2016

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Rebuilding season or not, falling short of the playoffs and finishing with a losing record probably means that more things went wrong than went right for a team. This series, however, will focus on those silver linings that each team can take away from an otherwise disappointing season.

[Related: “Top Bright Spots” archive]

Here are the biggest bright spots for the Atlanta Braves.

Note: Freddie Freeman’s terrific season does qualify as a bright spot, as does Julio Teheran’s to a lesser extent, but not major ones in regards to what was expected and how it affects the team moving forward. Since neither is expected to be a trade candidate, their performances don’t change the outlook for the offseason or for the 2017 season. 

1. Ender Inciarte/ Matt Kemp/ Nick Markakis, OF

All indications are that the Braves expect to contend in 2017 and will be aggressive in their pursuit of two or three starting pitchers that could help send them in the right direction. Trading from a position of strength didn’t appear to been an option a few months ago. But thanks to the late-season success from their starting outfield trio, this is now a viable strategy. Here’s a look at the three potential trade candidates:

Inciarte: .863 OPS, 14 2B, 3 3B, 2 HR, 7 SB in 60 games; under club control thru ’20; entering first year of arbitration eligibility (Super Two).
Kemp: .914 OPS, 16 2B, 15 HR in 57 games; owed $47.25MM thru 2019
Markakis: .839 OPS, 16 2B, 7 HR in 60 games; owed $22MM thru 2018

The 25-year-old Inciarte is easily the most valuable trade chip of the three, although I wouldn’t rule out the Braves receiving a decent return for Markakis or Kemp. One of the strong motivators for the Braves in the Kemp deal was to rid themselves of Hector Olivera and his contract. Getting Kemp was an added bonus. They’d likely be more than happy to pay his close to $16MM per season salary and would likely be willing to eat a portion of that in an offseason trade if it brought back a starting pitcher who could help in 2017.

2. Jace Peterson, IF/OF

While Peterson’s season won’t likely have much effect on Ozzie Albies’ arrival in the majors—you can probably pencil Albies into the starting lineup no later than June 1st whether Peterson is in the picture or not—his value to the Braves has increased greatly.

Since returning from a stint in the minors on June 10th, the 26-year-old has a .789 OPS with seven homers, 15 doubles, 44 walks and 46 strikeouts. In addition to functioning as a stop-gap for Albies, he could also push Adonis Garcia for playing time at third base, as well as give the Braves another option in the outfield if they were to trade Inciarte, Kemp or Markakis. That is, if he’s still in the organization on Opening Day.

Peterson’s trade value should be on the rise. Young, controllable players—he’ll be eligible for free agency after that 2020 season—who can play multiple positions (including short and center) and get on base at a high clip are at a premium. The combination of youth, talent and versatility makes him an asset for a contender or rebuilding team.

3. Mike Foltynewicz, SP

The open audition the Braves have been holding for starting pitchers in 2016 hasn’t yielded many answers in regards to who can help them out in the near future. Out of all the young, unproven pitchers who have been given the opportunity to make a start, Foltynewicz is the most likely to be penciled into the 2017 rotation.

In what might have been his last chance to prove that he could be a big league starter—many scouts believe the hard-throwing right-hander is best suited for the bullpen—Foltynewicz had more ups (seven starts with one earned run or less) than downs (five starts with five or more earned runs allowed). At just 24 years of age, there is still plenty of room for growth. Another step forward in 2017 and the Braves could have themselves a solid No. 2 or 3 starter.

4. Mauricio Cabrera, RP

It’s not out of the ordinary for a rookie to look much better than expected in the big leagues based on their Minor League track record. Small-sample success can be a matter of opposing teams not having enough information to formulate the proper plan of attack. Once the book is out, word spreads quickly and that players’ weaknesses are exposed.

In the case of Cabrera, his weakness was that he could not throw strikes consistently enough with a fastball that regularly exceeds 100 MPH. Since 2015, his first year as a full-time relief pitcher in the Minor Leagues, he combined to walk 57 batters in 82 innings (5.7 BB/9) between High-A and Double-A. In the majors, where he’s been since the Braves called him up on June 27th, he’s walked only 14 hitters in 34.2 innings (3.6 BB/9) en route to a solid 3.12 ERA with four saves and eight holds in his 35 appearances. If he can throw a 102 fastball for strikes and employ a secondary pitch or two that somewhat resembles the fastball coming out of his hand, extensive scouting reports probably won’t help much.

While their have been a few expected bumps along the way, the 22-year-old has earned a shot to challenge Arodys Vizcaino (any any other competitors who are brought into the picture) for the closer’s job in 2017 and should at least be penciled into a setup role.

5. Ozzie Albies, 2B/SS (MiLB)

The 19-year-old Albies, who spent the entire 2015 season in Low-A ball, was on the doorstep to the Major Leagues before fracturing his elbow earlier this month. We’ll never know whether the Braves were willing to add him to the 40-man roster and start his service time clock as they did with Dansby Swanson. GM John Coppolella suggested the team didn’t think he was quite ready, but it wouldn’t have been a major surprise. He would’ve been the 2nd player in team history from Wilemstad, Curacao to debut at age 19. The other was center fielder Andruw Jones, a five-time All-Star who won 10 Gold Glove awards as a Brave.

A jump over High-A and to the upper minors wasn’t much of a challenge for the switch-hitting Albies, who finished the season with a .778 OPS, 49 extra-base hits (33 2B, 10 3B, 6 HR) and 30 stolen bases between Double-A and Triple-A. The fast-rising prospect should make his MLB debut early in the 2017 season, teaming with Swanson to form one of the more intriguing young double-play duos in baseball.

[Braves Depth Chart]

Coppolella On Braves’ Offseason Plans, Prospects, Olivera, Kemp

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Braves GM John Coppolella took over his club’s Twitter account today to address the organization’s direction. While he expressed disappointment that the win-loss record hasn’t shown much improvement, the focus obviously remains on the future for Atlanta. Still, he continued to suggest that the expectation is for the on-field product to begin improving in the near term … and also left no doubt that he follows Braves fandom rather closely on social media.

Here are some of the key points, with all links to Twitter:

[Related: Braves Depth Chart]

  • Coppolella predicts that the Braves will be quite active in free agency, saying that the team has “more money to spend than in the past 10 years.” Atlanta has never been one of the biggest spenders around, so it’s not exactly a lofty bar, but with only $50MM on the books for 2017 (before arbitration raises) there ought to be some added freedom this winter. Coppy adds that he’s interested in making “major [free agent] signings” to bring in “impactful” players, with a focus (whether in free agency or trade) on adding “at least two” starters and bolstering the catching unit. The latter area, at least, is one of some depth on the coming market.
  • The upcoming crop of open-market starters, of course, is about as thin as we’ve ever seen. But that remains a need for the Braves, with Coppolella saying he was disappointed in the lack of progress from the club’s young rotation members. He adds that “opportunity time is over in 2017” for those pitchers, who will “have to earn a rotation spot once [the Braves] add free agents.” One still-youthful staff member, Julio Teheran, has turned in an outstanding year. While Coppolella did not address the topic, I’d note that it’ll be interesting to see whether there is any chatter regarding the talented righty, whose stock is firmly on the rise. He has often been mentioned as a trade candidate, but with Atlanta looking to add at the major league level, the time for a deal may have passed.
  • There isn’t a general need for arms, Coppolella insisted. In addition to noting the many minor league talents who are in the pipeline, he says that the “bullpen is likely the least area of concern” entering the winter.
  • Looking back, Coppolella acknowledges that acquiring Hector Olivera “still haunts me.” That deal obviously did not pan out on or off the field, and Olivera’s contract was sent to the Padres in the deal that netted Matt Kemp. The Braves GM copped to being “shortsighted” in commenting recently on Kemp’s poor conditioning, saying the veteran has been “terrific” in all regards since coming over. As for a trade that has gone in Atlanta’s favor, Coppolella expressed surprise at Shelby Miller’s struggles with the Diamondbacks and said that as many as twenty teams attempted to acquire him last winter.
  • The Braves did not promote young infielder Ozzie Albies to the majors this year because they “didn’t feel Ozzie was ready,” says Coppolella. But he notes that the youngster “will get an opportunity to fight for a [major league] job” this spring despite being passed over. Generally, Coppolella added, the organization expects to “continue to push players and provide opportunities.” He hinted that service time won’t be a factor in determining when the club’s touted minor league assets make it to the bigs.
  • With a laundry list of interesting young arms on the farm, Coppolella singled out towering, 22-year-old righty Patrick Weigel, who he says has a “chance to be a frontline starter.” The 2015 seventh-round draft pick has posted 149 2/3 innings of 2.47 ERA ball at the High-A and (briefly) Double-A levels this year, with 9.1 K/9 and 3.3 BB/9, leading Coppy to name him the most improved minor league pitcher in the organization. The GM cited outfielder Dustin Peterson as the recipient of that honor on the position-player side after his .282/.343/.431 batting line and 12 home runs over 578 plate appearances at Double-A. Peterson came over as part of a group of increasingly interesting prospects in the Justin Upton trade, with lefty Max Fried also drawing praise from the organization’s baseball operations triggerman.
  • All said, it promises to be another interesting winter in Atlanta. It’s generally a quiet time right now on the rumor front, but Coppolella says the club is already holding talks on prospective offseason trades. Primary attention seems to be going to the major league roster at present, but Coppolella suggested that he will continue to focus on infusing young talent to the system, writing that the organization “will always try to trade for draft picks” when possible.

Players That Have Cleared Revocable Waivers

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The first three two and a half weeks of August yielded only a few minor trades, featuring pickups by the Mariners (Arquimedes Caminero and Pat Venditte), a swap of veteran infielders (Erick Aybar and Mike Aviles) and the Marlins adding some left-handed depth to their ’pen (Hunter Cervenka). Since that time, several names have changed hands, though, including Carlos Ruiz, A.J. Ellis, Dioner Navarro, Jeff Francoeur, Daniel Nava, Marc Rzepczynski and Erick Aybar. A trade sending veteran outfielder Coco Crisp to the Indians should be announced on Wednesday as well.

Before diving into the names, a few items bear repeating. The majority of Major League players will be placed on trade waivers this month, with most instances going unreported. There are undoubtedly players (quite a few of them, most likely) who have already cleared waivers but have not been reported to have done so. Players can be traded into September, as well, but only those traded on or before Aug. 31 will be eligible for the postseason with their new teams, so there’s some urgency for contending clubs to complete deals by month’s end. And, of course, for those who aren’t familiar with the inner-workings of waiver trades, MLBTR published a full explanation of how August trades work earlier this month. Onto the known names…

  • Ryan Braun (link): Although Braun has slashed an excellent .315/.377/.551 with 24 homers and 14 steals through 454 plate appearances this season, his pricey contract enabled him to slip through waivers. Braun, 32, is owed $76MM through 2021, and any team acquiring him would likely need Milwaukee to pick up a sizable chunk of his contract, according to FOX Sports’ Ken Rosenthal. That doesn’t seem to bode well for the possibility of a trade this month.
  • Ervin Santana (link): Santana, 33, is due $13.5MM per year through 2018, which makes him a fairly expensive investment, but he’s in the midst of another fine season. The righty has been among the few bright spots for the last-place Twins, having recorded a 3.54 ERA, 6.9 K/9 and 2.38 BB/9 in 147 1/3 innings. Given that he cleared waivers, the Twins might have to eat some of Santana’s contract if they wish to move him for a decent return. However, Minnesota reportedly needed to be “overwhelmed” to deal Santana in July, and it’s doubtful their bullish opinion of him has changed since then.
  • Ryan Howard (link): It seems as if any possibility of a Howard trade has gone out the window with his time with the Phillies drawing to an increasingly pleasant end. But he does still deliver more pure power than most hitters — albeit almost exclusively against righties — with 19 long balls in less than half a season worth of plate appearances.
  • Matt Wieters (link): Not only is Wieters expensive ($15.8MM salary this year), but he’s also underperforming both offensively and defensively. Thus, with fellow backstops Kurt Suzuki and Brian McCann having already cleared waivers, it’s no surprise that Wieters did, too. Regardless of his struggles, Wieters is the starting catcher for a playoff contender with no better in-house option in place, making a trade involving the impending free agent all the more unlikely.
  • Scott Kazmir (link): Kazmir is owed $16MM in each of the next two seasons, but he has the ability to opt out of his deal after this year. Kazmir’s run prevention (4.41 ERA) has been a letdown in 132 2/3 innings this season, although he has recorded an outstanding K/9 (9.02) to go with a 3.32 BB/9 and a superb 15.2 percent infield fly rate. The positives weren’t enough for anyone to claim Kazmir, though, and it’s doubtful the injury-riddled Dodgers will move out a healthy starter in the middle of a playoff race.
  • James Shields (link): The right-hander was previously a high-end option that every team would’ve loved to slot into its rotation. At 34, he’s now pitching like a DFA candidate. The White Sox, who acquired Shields from the Padres earlier this year, owe him $10MM per season through 2018. Thanks largely to a plummeting strikeout rate and a propensity for allowing HRs, Shields has run up a 7.62 ERA in 69 2/3 innings with Chicago. Overall, he has a 5.98 ERA in 137 frames this year. While Shields is on track for a 10th straight 30-start season, there’s no point in trading for someone who isn’t at least keeping his team in games every fifth day.
  • Nick Markakis (link): The negatives seem to outweigh the positives with Markakis, who’s on a $10.5MM salary through 2018 and doesn’t bring the offensive value to the table that he used to. Since leaving Baltimore for Atlanta last year, the right fielder has hit .285/.360/.384 with a mere 12 HRs in 1,200-plus plate trips. The average and on-base percentage are clearly pluses. Fact is, though, a corner outfielder who has little power, doesn’t grade well defensively and isn’t all that cheap isn’t too appealing.
  • Mitch Moreland (link): Moreland is amid his third straight 20-homer season and isn’t overly expensive ($5.7MM salary) in the last year of his contract, so it wouldn’t have been shocking had someone claimed him. Instead, the lifetime .251/.316/.481 hitter got through waivers and looks likely to remain with World Series-contending Texas for the rest of the season.
  • Matt Kemp (link): Once an MVP-level player, the 31-year-old Kemp has fallen off thanks to defensive issues and a decline at the plate. As a roughly league-average hitter on a $21.5MM salary through 2019, he was fully expected to go unclaimed had the Braves placed him on waivers. They did, and that’s exactly what happened. Atlanta’s on the hook for $18MM per year of Kemp’s money for the duration of his contract. The Padres, his previous team, make up the difference. For any deal to happen, the Braves would likely have to eat a hefty portion of that cash.
  • Joakim Soria (link): The 32-year-old Soria has become increasingly homer prone and displaying some concerning control issues in 2016, so it’s not surprising that no team risked claiming the remaining $19.72MM that he is owed through the completion of the 2018 season. Soria’s 92.8 mph average fastball is actually a career-high, and his strikeouts and ground-ball rate both remain sound, so perhaps he could be moved if Kansas City were to eat some of the remainder on that deal.
  • Eric O’Flaherty (link): Once a powerhouse out of the Braves’ bullpen, O’Flaherty’s second stint with Atlanta hasn’t gone nearly as well. He’s never fully regained his form after undergoing Tommy John surgery in 2013, and his ERA in 2016 rested just shy of 7.00 when word of his clearing waivers broke. His $1.75MM salary wouldn’t be prohibitive were he pitching well, but even opposing lefties have roughed up O’Flaherty this season, and he’s been positively obliterated by right-handed opponents.
  • Kurt Suzuki (link): The Twins’ catcher was reported to have cleared waivers just yesterday. Unlike a number of players that clear waivers in the month of August, Suzuki is relatively affordable, making it something of a surprise that no teams placed a claim on him. While he’s not regarded as a highly skilled defensive backstop, he’s hitting .281/.321/.431, which is quite a step up from the league-average catcher (.242/.311/.380). He doesn’t walk much, but he’s also very tough to strike out (12.9%), and he was owed just $1.54MM through season’s end when he reportedly cleared on Aug. 16.
  • Brian McCann (link): It’s no surprise that McCann cleared waivers, as he’s owed a hefty $34MM beyond the 2016 campaign. McCann’s offensive production has wilted a bit in recent weeks, and while his .232/.333/.404 batting line and 15 homers are still solid marks for a catcher, it’s tough to imagine the Yankees moving him without absorbing a fair amount of the money that remains on his contract. Also standing in the way of a potential deal is the fact that teams looking for catching help beyond this year have a fair number of choices on the upcoming free agent market.

One final note: outfielder Jeff Francoeur (link) and catcher Carlos Ruiz (link) were both reported to have cleared waivers as well, but each has already been traded to a new team, with Francoeur going to the Marlins and Ruiz going to the Dodgers.

Braves GM On Matt Kemp, Matt Wisler And Aaron Blair

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In addition to declaring that the rebuilding, last-place Braves need to start winning in 2017, general manager John Coppolella touched on the statuses of three of his team’s players in a Sunday interview with MLB Network Radio (Twitter links). Specifically, Coppolella mentioned outfielder Matt Kemp and a pair of right-handers, Matt Wisler and Aaron Blair.

Coppolella believes Kemp, a much-maligned defender, will be able to contribute more in the field if he gets in better shape.

“A big part of why he isn’t real good in left field is because he’s out of shape,” Coppolella said. “If he gets in shape, he’ll be much better.”

Unless Kemp has been out of shape since his major league career began with the Dodgers in 2006, there doesn’t seem to be much reason to expect a significant defensive turnaround. Metrics like Defensive Runs Saved, Ultimate Zone Rating and UZR/150 have regularly given Kemp negative grades in the field. So far, the 31-year-old has compiled minus-98 DRS, minus-116.6 UZR and minus-12.6 UZR/150 in the big leagues.

Given his power-hitting ways, Kemp has fewer limitations at the plate, but he’s still batting just .261/.292/.480 in 510 plate appearances this season. Of greater concern, perhaps, is that Kemp has the ninth-worst BB/K ratio (.21) in baseball among 158 qualified hitters. In combining the flaws in his game with his salary, it’s not surprising that Kemp passed through revocable trade waivers unclaimed. The Braves, who acquired Kemp from the Padres prior to the Aug. 1 non-waiver trade deadline, owe the ex-MVP candidate $18MM per year through 2019. Kemp entered Sunday with a .242/.320/.379 line and one homer through his first 66 at-bats as a Brave. Now, having only traded the toxic Hector Olivera for Kemp, Coppolella will hope his high-profile pickup improves his conditioning and becomes a legitimate producer in Atlanta.

As for Wisler and Blair, they’ll have to fight for rotation spots next season. During his interview Sunday, Coppolella named starting pitching and the catcher position as two areas the club will focus on upgrading in the offseason. In doing so, he described Wisler and Blair as “hard to count on” at this juncture.

Wisler, also a former member of the Padres organization, has not fared well since debuting with the Braves last season. In 231 career innings, Wisler has posted a 4.95 ERA/4.96 FIP/4.99 xFIP trio to go with a 36 percent ground-ball rate. The 23-year-old, once a well-regarded prospect, hasn’t pitched for the Braves since July 28. Wisler has since been at Triple-A Gwinnett, where he has fared better in 26 2/3 frames. Still, Wisler’s 3.71 ERA, 7.43 K/9 and 1.69 BB/9 in the minors haven’t earned him another big league shot yet and won’t guarantee him a place in the Braves’ starting five next season.

Like Wisler, Blair’s quality prospect status hasn’t yet transferred to the majors, and he’ll have to earn his place in the Braves’ 2017 rotation. After joining the Braves last offseason as part of their return from the Diamondbacks in the famous Shelby Miller trade, Blair has recorded a 7.99 ERA with a matching K/9 and BB/9 (5.15) in 50 2/3 big league innings. As a result of that disastrous output, the 24-year-old Blair has spent the past two months at Gwinnett. While his 4.59 ERA at the Triple-A level isn’t inspiring, Blair has put up much better strikeout and walk rates (9.18 and 3.78) than the ones he compiled in the majors before his late-June demotion.

Thanks in part to the early struggles of Wisler and Blair, Coppolella will have his work cut out for him during the winter as he tries to find complements to the Braves’ ace, Julio Teheran.

Matt Kemp, Mitch Moreland Clear Waivers

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In addition to the previously reported Nick Markakis, Matt Wieters, James Shields and Scott Kazmir, Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe adds Braves outfielder Matt Kemp and Rangers first baseman Mitch Moreland to the list of veterans who have cleared waivers. Like the other four players, Kemp and Moreland are now eligible to be traded anywhere.

Matt Kemp (vertical)[RELATED: Players Who Have Cleared Revocable Waivers]

Kemp is only a few weeks into his stint with the Braves, who acquired him from the Padres in exchange for Hector Olivera on July 30. In doing so, the Braves got rid of an on- and off-field disappointment in Olivera and added Kemp on a $21.5MM salary through 2019. The Braves are on the hook for $18MM of that sum, while the Padres will pay $3.5MM of it for the duration of the deal. Undoubtedly, Atlanta would have to eat quite a bit of money to move Kemp, who hasn’t provided much all-around value since the 2012 season.

Kemp’s best asset is his bat, but he has only produced a league-average line (.259/.291/.475) despite 24 home runs in 505 plate appearances this year. At .265/.312/.443 in 648 PAs last season, Kemp wasn’t overly effective then, either. Even if the former MVP candidate and ex-Dodger experiences an offensive revival, which looks unlikely for a player whose walk rate is at a career-worst 4.8 percent, his defensive woes will continue limiting his value. Long a negative in the field, Kemp currently ranks toward the bottom of the majors in Defensive Runs Saved (minus-6), Ultimate Zone Rating (minus-7.9) and UZR/150 (minus-12.3). Thus, Kemp is likely better off as a designated hitter than an outfielder, yet the 31-year-old has played his entire career in the National League. Given his likely low to nonexistent trade value, Kemp looks primed to continue in the Senior Circuit.

While Kemp is on a last-place team that has no hope of contention in 2016, Moreland is a member of a club with World Series aspirations. In 376 trips to the plate, Moreland has mimicked Kemp in swatting plenty of homers (21) while recording a batting line that’s only slightly better than league average (.251/.316/.481). Those numbers are essentially right in line with Moreland’s career, as the 30-year-old has hit .258/.319/.449 in 2,635 PAs. He’s also amid his third straight 20-plus-HR season, making him one of four Rangers who have achieved the feat this year (excluding midseason pickups Carlos Beltran and Jonathan Lucroy).

Moreland, who’s on a $5.7MM salary, is due to hit free agency in the offseason. While he could leave the Rangers then and perhaps pave the way for the Joey Gallo era, it seems unlikely to happen during a season in which first-place Texas is 73-51 and aiming for a championship.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Padres, Braves Swap Matt Kemp, Hector Olivera

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The Braves and Padres have agreed to a swap of bad contracts, announcing a trade of Hector Olivera from Atlanta to San Diego in exchange for Matt Kemp and cash considerations (which reportedly total $10.5MM). If there was any question about this being a purely financial move from the Padres’ vantage point, that was answered with the news that Olivera will be immediately designated Olivera for assignment once his suspension is complete.

Matt Kemp

[Related: Updated San Diego Padres and Atlanta Braves Depth Charts]

The 31-year-old Kemp is owed $21.5MM in each of the next three seasons. The Padres had been slated to pay $18MM of that annually, with the Dodgers kicking in $3.5MM per year. That $3.5MM from the Dodgers will now reportedly be redirected to the Braves. Atlanta already owed Olivera $28.5MM from 2017-19, so the trade effectively amounts to the Braves adding Kemp for an additional $25.5MM over three years — an annual rate of $8.5MM.

A Kemp trade has long been difficult to imagine, as his considerable power is largely negated by his poor defense and his difficulty getting on base. Though he’s clubbed 24 homers this season, Kemp is hitting .262/.285/.489 overall, which translates to just a few ticks above the league-average batting line, per park-adjusted metrics like OPS+ and wRC+. However, while Olivera is owed less money than Kemp, his recent off-field issues look to have motivated the Braves to rid themselves of him before he ever has the opportunity to play another game in their uniform.

Olivera is currently serving a suspension through Aug. 1 under MLB’s domestic violence policy after being arrested and charged with assault of a woman at a Washington D.C.-area hotel back in early April. He’s the third player this season to serve a suspension under the newly implemented policy and has received the strongest punishment of the three. The Braves’ acquisition of Olivera has been ill-fated from the start, as defensive questions at third base quickly forced him into left field, and he’s yet to produce the plate whatsoever in an Atlanta uniform. The 31-year-old has tallied 108 plate appearances in the Majors, but the resulting .245/.296/.378 slash is considerably below the league average, and he hasn’t been productive in his limited minor league time, either. Olivera is owed $28.5MM from 2017-20.

Hector Olivera

From the Padres’ perspective, the deal is entirely about shedding some of the remaining money on Kemp’s contract and, presumably, clearing a spot for slugging corner outfield prospect Hunter Renfroe to debut with the big league club, whether it’s now or later on in the summer. (Renfroe, 24, was San Diego’s first-round pick in 2013 and has slashed a combined .323/.351/.594 in 121 games at the Triple-A level.) The trade that brought Kemp to San Diego in exchange for Yasmani Grandal, Joe Wieland and Zach Eflin was a head-scratcher at the time and has proven to be a bust for the Padres, but they’ll avoid paying everything that was left on Kemp’s contract with this trade, which continues GM A.J. Preller’s quest to shed payroll and give an opportunity to younger players.

As for the Braves, they’ll accept a portion of Kemp’s contract as a means of getting out from underneath a similarly regrettable trade. One year ago to the day, Atlanta traded Alex Wood, Jose Peraza, Luis Avilan and Jim Johnson to the Dodgers in a three-team deal (also including the Marlins) that sent Olivera, Paco Rodriguez and Zach Bird to the Braves. Atlanta had reportedly coveted Olivera as a free agent but lost out to the Dodgers’ huge offer of $62.5MM. Atlanta had seemingly hoped that Olivera could become a long-term option at third base, but things certainly haven’t panned out that way. GM John Coppolella candidly called the Olivera deal “a bad trade for us and one that I wish we had back” in a Twitter Q&A with fans last month, and he’s at least managed to rid himself of an asset from which the organization very clearly wanted to distance itself.

While Kemp’s defense and OBP will most likely continue to detract from his value, he’ll certainly add some power to a lineup that is currently bereft of home run threats outside of Freddie Freeman. He figures to play left field for the Braves while Mallex Smith is on the shelf, and the possibility of a Nick Markakis deal could open right field for Kemp in the long term. Given Atlanta’s rebuild and stockpiling of young talent, however, it seems reasonable to expect that they may eventually be open to moving Kemp themselves as a means of clearing way for a more youthful option to join Smith and Ender Inciarte in the outfield.

ESPN’s Keith Law first reported that the two sides were approaching a Kemp/Olivera swap (via Twitter). Joel Sherman of the New York Post tweets that it would be just those two players in the deal. Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports added that there were cash considerations in the deal. Dennis Lin of the San Diego Union-Tribune reported (on Twitter) that Olivera could be immediately be designated for assignment. David O’Brien of the Atlanta Journal Constitution tweeted that an agreement was reached . Bowden tweeted the amount of cash changing hands. USA Today’s Bob Nightengale tweeted that the $10.5MM was the same $10.5MM the Padres were to receive from the Dodgers — not an additional $10.5MM.

Photos courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Padres Working To Trade Matt Kemp, Talking With Braves

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4:31pm: MLB.com’s Mark Bowman implies that talks between the two sides aren’t especially active at the moment, tweeting that “if the Braves revisit” Kemp discussions with the Padres, then San Diego would “seemingly have to be willing” to take on the remaining money owed to Hector Oliver in a swap of bad contracts. Currently serving a suspension under MLB’s domestic violence policy, Olivera is owed $28.5MM from 2017 through 2020.

3:34pm: The Padres are working to trade Matt Kemp and are willing to eat the vast majority of the money he is owed, reports ESPN’s Jim Bowden (via Twitter). The Braves are one of two teams to which San Diego is currently talking he adds. FOX’s Ken Rosenthal tweets that he hears similar chatter. The Padres are working to move Kemp, and they’ve talked to the Braves, who are looking for ways to add to their offense.

Kemp, 31, is owed $21.5MM in each of the next three seasons, and the Padres are on the hook for $18MM of that sum on an annual basis. (The Dodgers are picking up the other $3.5MM in each of those seasons.) Trading him has long seemed like a difficult feat, as Kemp’s considerable power is largely negated by his poor defense and his difficulty getting on base. Though he’s clubbed 24 homers this season, Kemp is hitting .262/.285/.489 overall, which translates to just a few ticks above the league-average batting line, per park-adjusted metrics like OPS+ and wRC+.

The Braves have, in the past, been said to be willing to take on large contracts in order to acquire meaningful prospects from a trading partner. It seems unlikely, however, that the rebuilding Padres, who have been accumulating as much minor league talent as possible as of late, would give up any of their top-tier talent to shed Kemp’s deal. From a speculative standpoint, the Braves could look to utilize Nick Markakis’ contract to balance out some of the salary involved, though taking on Markakis could prove troublesome for the Padres, who undoubtedly would like to give slugging corner outfield prospect Hunter Renfroe a chance to bring his career .323/.351/.594 batting line at Triple-A to the Majors.

Rosenthal’s Latest: Hill, Upton, Bruce, Hellickson, Stanley, Mets, Puig

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Here’s the latest from Ken Rosenthal, via a pair of videos on FOX Sports:

  • When the Athletics put Rich Hill on the market, they can be expected to charge a high price for him, Rosenthal says. Hill’s stats — if only for this season — compare favorably to David Price’s last year, and he might be amenable to an extension with his new team.
  • Prior to this season, there was no trade interest in Melvin Upton unless the Padres took on the rest of his contract. After a .268/.315/.464 performance this year, though, that’s changing, at least to a degree. San Diego still owes Upton a little under $40MM through 2017, but teams are now willing to give up talent, with the Padres’ return increasing depending upon how much salary they’re willing to take on. The Padres might be motivated to deal Upton and/or Matt Kemp to clear space for former first-round pick Hunter Renfroe, who’s batting .335/.362/.611 for Triple-A El Paso. Austin Hedges has also hit well for the Chihuahuas, which means the Padres could also look to move fellow catcher Derek Norris to clear space in the big leagues.
  • Jay Bruce to the Blue Jays would make sense, Rosenthal opines. Acquiring Bruce from the Reds would allow the Jays to move Jose Bautista (who’s currently on the DL with a toe injury) to DH and reduce playing time for the underwhelming Justin Smoak. The Jays have a greater need for pitching, but might play to the strengths of the market by acquiring hitting instead.
  • The Phillies could consider keeping Jeremy Hellickson, who’s in the midst of a solid season — he could eat innings for them down the stretch, with the Phillies perhaps gambling on him by extending a qualifying offer this coming winter and hoping to grab a draft pick as a result. But they would still “jump” at a good trade offer. Of their relievers, the Phils are more likely to deal David Hernandez or Andrew Bailey than Jeanmar Gomez, who they can control for 2017. Other Phillies candidates to be dealt include Andres Blanco and Peter Bourjos.
  • Rosenthal begins the second video with a brief discussion of an article of his from earlier today about former Cardinals minor leaguer Cody Stanley, who has already received a 162-game suspension and expects to receive a lifetime ban for repeatedly testing positive for the steroid Turinabol. Stanley claims to not know why he keeps testing positive. “I will never apologize for something I didn’t do,” Stanley said in a statement. “We will not stop searching for why all of this has happened.” Chris Colabello of the Blue Jays, Alec Asher and Daniel Stumpf of the Phillies and Boog Powell of the Mariners have all tested positive for Turinabol and received suspensions, and all claim not to know what happened. “Who would be stupid enough to take the same steroid again?” Stanley asks Rosenthal.
  • The Mets are likely to trade for pitching after a series of injuries to their hurlers, Rosenthal says. Recent injuries to Matt Harvey and Noah Syndergaard could have the team looking in different directions this month than previously anticipated, perhaps to starters, perhaps to relievers.
  • The Dodgers will consider dealing Yasiel Puig before the August 1 deadline, Rosenthal suggests. Whether they actually do deal him could depend, however, on the timing of Andre Ethier’s return and whether they acquire another outfielder.
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