SAN DIEGO – Less than two hours after leaving his 4:00 AM EST press conference to announce the two-part trade of Dee Gordon to the Marlins and the acquisition of Howie Kendrick from the Angels, the Los Angeles Dodgers President of Baseball Operations, Andrew Friedman, has made another blockbuster trade, this time involving star outfielder Matt Kemp.
According to multiple sources including U-T San Diego, the Dodgers and Padres have agreed on a deal that would send Matt Kemp and catcher Tim Federowicz to San Diego in exchange for Padres catcher Yasmani Grandal and pitching prospects Joe Wieland and Zach Eflin. In addition to the players involved in the trade, the Padres would receive nearly $30 million in cash from Los Angeles to help offset the 5 years and $107 million remaining on Kemp’s contract.
The i’s need to be dotted and the t’s crossed, but pending physicals which should take place Thursday morning, the deal is done. The Padres get the big bat in the middle of the lineup that they have been seeking especially after losing out on Pablo Sandoval and Yasmany Torres last week. Kemp will now highlight MLB’s worst offense last season and will look to carry over from his scorching second half last season in which he finished with 25 home runs and 89 RBIs.
Grandal is expected to be in a time share situation with Dodgers catcher AJ Ellis who’s battled injuries over the past two seasons. Grandal is not void of injuries himself as he missed most of the 2013 season after tearing his ACL. Grandal led the Padres with 15 home runs last season, but comes with plenty of drama as he was suspended 50 games at the end of 2013 for testing positive for PEDs.
The Dodgers new brain trust of “money ball” protégés pulled off one of the busiest trade days in recent memory by now completing four trades, involving five teams and a total of 14 players in less than 24 hours. Friedman and new Dodgers General Manager, Farhan Zaidi, traded second baseman Dee Gordon to the Marlins for pitching prospect Andrew Heaney. They then traded Heaney to the Angels for second baseman Howie Kendrick and reportedly have acquired Phillies shortstop Jimmy Rollins for two pitching prospects.
If all that wasn’t enough action for you, they then signed New York Yankees free agent starting pitcher, Brandon McCarthy, to a four-year, $48 million contract. Since Friedman took over just 24 days ago, he has signed a new GM, and completed nine trades. In all, he has added depth to the bullpen, young talent, veteran leadership, starting pitching and defense on the infield. He must feel like a kid in a candy shop after leaving the small market, low-budget, Tampa Bay Rays. Friedman has been given the keys to the Ferrari and he is racing it down the street as we speak. The 2014 Los Angeles Dodgers that won 94 games will now look nothing like they did last season; whether it works or not is still up for debate, but it has definitely been a compelling winter for the boys in blue.
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