Originally Posted by
gut
Funny trade today between the Dodgers and Braves that amounts to a simple re-allocation of sunk costs. Kemp back to LA for AGonz, Kazmir, Mccarthy, Culberson.
Trade actually works well for both teams. Dodgers get below the luxury tax level for next season, meanwhile Braves get out of the extra year on kemps deal still left, pay AGonz 20 million to go away (already DFA'd him), and get 1 year flyers on Kazmir n McCarthy to maybe eat some innings for them.
It is an interesting trade, and I like it.
Funny how Culbertson was thrown in. I thought he sucked in Colorado, but I got to like him on the Dodgers, as he was one of those enthusiastic, clutch guys who seemed to perform surprisingly well when needed. But I don't think he has the ability to be an everyday player. He's the only one who doesn't have a large contract.
Amazing how quickly Gonzalez's value plummeted. He's only 35, but seems like he's 40 at this point. He went from a superstar to solid middle-of-lineup guy to useless liability really quickly. He never had injury problems until last year, but obviously that doesn't bode well for his future, hence the DFAing.
I'm actually glad the Dodgers got rid of him, as he was already a distraction in the playoffs when he was clearly insulted that they were leaving him off the roster. He was going to be a negative clubhouse presence sitting on the bench while watching Bellinger make everyone forget he existed.
But at least Gonzalez's contract was a remnant from the Colletti regime.
Kazmir and McCarthy represent failures by the new front office. The sad thing is that neither of these signings even looked good at the time. Both were given $48 million -- Kazmir for 3 years, McCarthy for four. McCarthy was one of those "big potential but always injured" guys, who never end up working out in the long run. Kazmir was simply a has-been, and had his own history of injuries.
Friedman/Zaidi were too much in small-market mode when signing these contracts -- pretty much from the standpoint of, "We don't have money for a real ace, so let's pay $12-$16 million per year for a guy who might surprise people and become an ace." That thinking can work in a place like Tampa Bay, but is a poor way to spend money in a large market like LA.
So now they get rid of the final year in those two contracts AND the one of Gonzalez ($22 million, I think), and they get back Kemp, who can actually still be useful.
Kemp is admittedly dreadful in the outfield, but the guy can still hit.
They also get back a player who was generally popular with fans in LA. I always thought Kemp got a bum rap with the reports that he was a clubhouse cancer. I watched all of the Dodgers games when he was on the team, and when he was injured, he was always right there on the bench, rooting hard for his teammates to succeed. When the Dodgers got the big hit, nobody was more excited than Kemp. Compare this to AGon who basically sulked.
Kemp developed his bad reputation because he had a temper and high expectations for himself, and occasionally he would lose control of that. But overall I saw no evidence that he was causing real problems in the clubhouse, and he really did seem like a team player.
I'm glad he's back. He's not the guy you build the offense around, and he's not worth the money he's being paid, but he's still quite useful, especially if he's acquired in a dead-money trade.
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