Is Matt Kemp's Tenure in LA Coming To An End?



Kemp reportedly not happy in OF position change. Photo Credit: USATSI

 

 

The logjam at the outfield position for the Dodgers has been very much debated and noted throughout this season so far. One of those outfielders fighting for a permanent spot out in the outfield, Matt Kemp, made some waves recently with not what he directly said but what his agent, former major leaguer Dave Stewart, said to Fox Sports baseball insider Ken Rosenthal about his client’s desire to return to centerfield.

 

By: Michael Hanley

 

Dave Stewart stated to Ken Rosenthal of Fox Sports:

“Whatever they want to do we're favorable to, as long as it gives him an opportunity to play every day. He'd like to eventually go back to center field. He's not opposed to right or left. But his hope at some point is to get back to center.”

Kemp has not played an entire nine innings in what was his customary center field position since May 22nd and has instead had to settle for playing in left field when he has gotten the call to start. To his credit, Kemp has done a solid job patrolling out in left field, while also continuing to get the job done with his bat. The problem is that its not his natural position in the outfield that he was brought up to the big leagues playing.

 

There are subtle changes that are needed in order to play left field coming from center. From the different angle and viewpoint of seeing the ball come off the bat to being conscious of where to throw the ball to off a base hit to how shallow or deep one would play on a given game situation. Left field has its quirks, especially at Dodger Stadium where the crowd and foul line come very much into play in how a left fielder has to play a ball that is hit at him or near him.

 

This problem stems from the fact that Los Angeles has five outfielders on their roster and only three starting positions to divide up amongst that group. They are  not moving Yasiel Puig out of right field. He has become a fixture on that side of the field with the array of sparking catches he has made whether using his sheer athleticism or being able to also have great vision and instinct to line up a ball coming at him and turns what looks like a potential base hit for the opponent, into a routine putout.

 

In the midst of Kemp moving out of the center field position, Andre Ethier and Scott Van Slyke have both done a very nice job of filling in that position when they have been called upon to do so by their manager Don Mattingly. They are able to read the ball correctly, know what route they should take to a ball coming toward them and make the correct throw toward the infield and have been able to cut and move at full speed with no problems. It has been one less position the skipper has had to worry about on a daily basis thanks to both player's consistency.

 

Unfortunately that could not be said for Matt Kemp when he was roaming center field for Los Angeles earlier in the season. Coming off injuries always play a role in the decreased performance of a player and that certainly  was the case for Kemp as he was coming off of both ankle surgery and shoulder surgery, two areas of the body that get the most use and stressed with all the movement an outfielder, no less a center fielder, must do over the course of a nine inning game.

 

Aside from the injuries, Kemp was just playing a well below average center field before the change was made, especially when you look back on all the years when he was one of the best fielding center fielders in all of baseball. In all of the metrics designed to measure the performance of a center fielder, Kemp graded badly on everyone of them. In both the  defensive runs saved category and  defensive WAR category he was in the negative numbers territory, which is never promising. The most eye catching number out of all these stats however, was the fielding percentage. His fielding percentage is .950 which is nearly 40 points lower than the league average, which is .987, startling considering where he was as a fielder pre injuries.

 

Another wrench that could be thrown in the long term plans of Matt Kemp wanting a return to centerfield is the Dodger’s center field prospect Joc Pederson. Pederson is spending this season at Triple-A Albuquerque where is absolutely crushing the ball for the Isotopes. So far this season, he is batting .326 with 18 home runs and 46 RBIs, very impressive to say the least and makes his already projected future as the everyday Dodgers centerfielder appear even brighter. At the same time, it would deal a crushing blow to Kemp of holding onto the hopes of being the centerfielder for LA in the long term and force a possible permanent  change to left field or changing address and moving onto another team that does not have the glut of outfielders like Los Angeles has.

 

The real big obstacle between Kemp and any possible trade for him is his contract. He is still owed $107 million over the 2015-2019 seasons, which is a huge amount of money for any team thinking of maybe inquiring about him to swallow and comprehend. This is a player who is still trying to regain his full power when it comes to batting and his quickness in the outfield. Its a big gamble for any team to take on and would really hinder their payroll and flexibility in terms of trying to improve the team through acquiring other players through trades etc. This reason alone is why a trade seems like a fairly remote possibility moving forward.

 

For now Kemp must deal with the reality of being a left fielder and not being in the mix for the center field job. It can be a hard thing for a prideful man like himself to accept but he is a professional and should ,in the long term, be able to accept this challenge and be a better player for it and be able to help the Dodgers to achieve their ultimate goal this season in winning the World Series.   

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