See ya Kemp

[6025]

Traded to Atlanta.

[6025]

Traded for Cuban defector Hector Olivera.

The San Diego Padres have agreed to trade outfielder Matt Kemp to the Atlanta Braves for third baseman Hector Olivera, a source confirmed to ESPN.

The deal, first reported by the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, will become official once both players have completed their physicals.


The Padres are sending $10.5 million to the Braves as part of the trade, a source said.

Olivera, a 31-year-old Cuban defector, is eligible to return Tuesday from an 82-game suspension for violating Major League Baseball's domestic-violence policy. The suspension, which is retroactive to April 30, stemmed from his April 13 arrest on assault and battery charges at a hotel outside Washington, D.C.

The Braves acquired Olivera last summer in a trade with the Los Angeles Dodgers, who signed him to a six-year, $62.5 million contract before the 2015 season. He is hitting .211 with no homers and two RBIs in six games this season.


Matt Kemp is hitting .265 with 23 homers and 69 RBIs this season, but has posted a .285 on-base percentage. Getty Images
Kemp, 31, hasn't lived up to his All-Star form since being traded to San Diego two seasons ago. This season, he is hitting .265 with 23 home runs and 69 RBIs, but Kemp has posted a .285 on-base percentage.

Braves, Padres swap bad contracts
The Braves and Padres agreed to a trade Saturday involving a swap of Matt Kemp and Hector Olivera, who have arguably two of the worst contracts in baseball.
KEMP OLIVERA
Age 31 31
Years left 3 4
Money left* $54.8M $28.5M
WAR since 2015 0.8 -0.1
*Excludes money paid by the Dodgers
-- ESPN Stats & Info
He signed an eight-year, $160 million deal with the Dodgers in 2012.

Saturday's trade is the latest among a series of deals the Padres have made in the past two months as they move to rebuild.

Since June, they have traded away four starting pitchers, sending All-Star left-hander Drew Pomeranz to the Boston Red Sox, James Shields to the Chicago White Sox, and Andrew Cashner and Colin Rea to the Miami Marlins.

Other players from their Opening Day roster who have been dealt include closer Fernando Rodney and outfielder Melvin Upton Jr.

Information from ESPN's Jim Bowden was used in this report.

[6025]

Great points here:

The purging of the San Diego Padres continues, as general manager A.J. Preller has done what seemed impossible: He found somebody to take Matt Kemp and his contract off his hands, reportedly agreeing to trade him to the Atlanta Braves for third baseman/left fielder Hector Olivera. Yes, that's how far Kemp has fallen -- traded for a guy currently suspended under MLB's domestic violence rules for allegedly beating a woman.

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Padres: 7 notable players traded from Opening Day roster incl 2/3 of starting outfield & 4/5 of starting rotation
4:37 PM - 30 Jul 2016
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Kemp is on pace for 36 home runs and more than 100 RBIs. Yet he has been barely above replacement level at 0.2 WAR, thanks to bad defense and a poor .285 OBP. The Padres actually sent cash to the Braves in the deal, but will save some money in the long-term based on the difference in the salaries between Kemp and Olivera. Trading Kemp (along with Melvin Upton Jr. earlier in the week to the Blue Jays) will also clear room for the Padres to call up Manuel Margot and/or Hunter Renfroe from Triple-A, two guys who will be competing with Travis Jankowski and Alex Dickerson for starting outfield positions in 2017. Reports also indicated that the Padres are likely to just cut Olivera -- a good move if that happens -- as he can't play to go along with his reprehensible off-field behavior.

What do the Braves get here? Well, mostly they get rid of Olivera. They obviously need offense, and Kemp is signed through 2019, although he hasn't been worth more than 1.0 WAR since 2012. He still has power, but that's the lone source of his positives right now, as he has drawn just 16 walks against 100 strikeouts, good for a .285 OBP. His Defensive Runs Saved figures the past four seasons are minus-6, minus-23, minus-15, and minus-6 so far in 2016, suggesting he's best suited for DH duties in the American League, not a regular spot in right field. Maybe Braves GM John Coppolella believes he can flip Kemp immediately or in the offseason to an AL team. Or maybe the Braves just don't put a lot of stock in defensive metrics, considering they traded away Andrelton Simmons in the offseason.

One thing that turns me off on Kemp is what I see from him during games. I was at a Padres-Dodgers game right before the All-Star break and never saw a player display such bad body language in a game. He'd slam his bat in disgust when he made an out, as if he had never done that before. He'd take a good minute to walk from the on-deck circle to home plate, the pitcher standing there waiting for Kemp to finally get in the batter's box. Jog out to his position? Yeah, right. He looked like the most joyless baseball player ever. Look, that could be nothing and maybe his teammates don't care (and maybe I saw him on a bad day, although Padres fans on Twitter have confirmed this behavior as a regular thing). Still, he's not really the kind of player I'd want as an example around a rebuilding team -- although it should be noted the Braves' position players are not young as they have the second-oldest average age (weighted by playing time) in the NL, behind only the Mets.

One more note here. Jeff Passan of Yahoo raises a secondary point about the Padres' deals this season:

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1) It is unquestionably what a rebuilding team ought do, so long as the rules are structured as they are. Worth asking: Should they be?
4:43 PM - 30 Jul 2016
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Because 2) When a team’s payroll is next to nothing, as the Padres’ will be, what happens to the $100M-plus they’re getting in shared money?
4:43 PM - 30 Jul 2016
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3) It goes into owners’ pockets. And that’s the main gripe: A complete teardown neuters the entire purpose of MLB's monetary redistribution.
4:43 PM - 30 Jul 2016
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This is what has always ticked off teams like the Yankees -- they give money to the small-market teams and some of them don't spend it. The Padres -- after last year's ill-advised attempt to make a playoff run -- smartly reversed course and have added prospects (starting with last winter's Craig Kimbrel trade) and cut payroll. That bodes well for the future ... as long as the money that is pocketed now is eventually spent to help build a better team.

[ArtistFormerlyKnownAsBKR]

Look, they just spent $120M alone on international signings (and reportedly aren't done yet) and paying portions of the bad contracts they shipped out. This after a year when they took on big bite in free agency. They've shelled out bucks in the last two drafts. I don't see any evidence of them being cheapskates. I was one who was expecting that prior to the crazy 2015 offseason. But they went all in and failed miserably. Now they're being accountable, moving the bad fits and getting what appears to be good talent in return. And they haven't been doing it on the cheap. After a year when they made all of baseball look at SD first because of what they spent and then how poorly it worked out, I give them credit for doing the right thing and reversing course. Now, one thing I was critical of last year is Preller not dealing anyone at the trade deadline. But I think he's ended up getting more for these guys by waiting than he would have gotten last year (incl money). I think he took the temp of the market last year and saw he was really getting terrible offers where he was eating whole contracts, and decided to hold. I think that's paid off. Preller's had some missteps but I see some cleverness too. I'm still open minded on both him and management's strategy. Haven't been able to say that in a decade.

[ArtistFormerlyKnownAsBKR]

Glad to read that now that Kemp is finally in a "real" baseball town, he will make a real effort and that he really thanks the Padres for paying him so well for only half-assing it here.

[6025]

Glad to read that now that Kemp is finally in a "real" baseball town, he will make a real effort and that he really thanks the Padres for paying him so well for only half-assing it here.

But hey San Diego, he's gonna grace us with his presence because he plans on living here!

[ArtistFormerlyKnownAsBKR]

But hey San Diego, he's gonna grace us with his presence because he plans on living here!

He's still got a lot of skills left but for some reason he just seems like a disinterested paycheck casher. Maybe he really cares but he never acted like it. I don't ever recall seeing him interviewed on TV. I don't ever recall seeing him making an effort to be active in the community. I always half-felt he was living in a hotel room the whole time.

Of course, this sort of behavior certainly brings out the baseball in real baseball towns.

[JDA21]

Look, they just spent $120M alone on international signings (and reportedly aren't done yet) and paying portions of the bad contracts they shipped out. This after a year when they took on big bite in free agency. They've shelled out bucks in the last two drafts. I don't see any evidence of them being cheapskates. I was one who was expecting that prior to the crazy 2015 offseason. But they went all in and failed miserably. Now they're being accountable, moving the bad fits and getting what appears to be good talent in return. And they haven't been doing it on the cheap. After a year when they made all of baseball look at SD first because of what they spent and then how poorly it worked out, I give them credit for doing the right thing and reversing course. Now, one thing I was critical of last year is Preller not dealing anyone at the trade deadline. But I think he's ended up getting more for these guys by waiting than he would have gotten last year (incl money). I think he took the temp of the market last year and saw he was really getting terrible offers where he was eating whole contracts, and decided to hold. I think that's paid off. Preller's had some missteps but I see some cleverness too. I'm still open minded on both him and management's strategy. Haven't been able to say that in a decade.

pretty much feel the same way..

cautiously optimistic for the future..

[6025]

pretty much feel the same way..

cautiously optimistic for the future..

That's the key for me - cautiously optimistic. But, those that don't remember history are doomed to repeat it. Goes for the Chargers too.

[6025]

Well, it looks like the Kemp-Olivera trade will turn out to be basically a release of Kemp and a portion of his salary.

http://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/news/2016/aug/10/padres-request-release-waivers-hector-olivera/

PITTSBURGH — The Padres on Wednesday requested unconditional release waivers on Hector Olivera. The infielder-outfielder had been designated for assignment Aug. 2. Wednesday's move is merely a formality before San Diego releases Olivera later this week.

Olivera was acquired in exchange for outfielder Matt Kemp on July 30, the Padres agreeing to the trade only for cost-cutting purposes. One of baseball's more toxic assets, Olivera will never play a game in a Padres uniform; at the time of the trade, the 31-year-old was finishing an 82-game suspension for violating Major League Baseball's domestic violence policy. The Padres, who remain responsible for the remainder of Olivera's contract, ultimately will save more than $30 million in the swap.

It is highly unlikely another club will claim Olivera, whose career is now in question. In April, Olivera was arrested and charged with misdemeanor assault and battery for allegedly beating a woman at the Braves' team hotel in Arlington, Va. That case is still pending.

Olivera, once a highly coveted player out of Cuba, also failed to live up to expectations on the field. A little more than a year ago, the Los Angeles Dodgers, who signed Olivera to a $62.5 million contract, dealt him to Atlanta. In 30 career major league games, Olivera has hit .245 with two home runs.