SAN DIEGO -- The much-anticipated trade sending Matt Kemp from the Dodgers to the Padres, a week in the making, has been officially consummated. But not without some drama.The Padres on Thursday night announced the five-player deal with their National League West rivals, a trade highlighted by the acquisition of Kemp, who immediately becomes the most-feared hitter in their order. He is expected to be introduced at a news conference Friday at Petco Park.
The Padres received Kemp and catcher Tim Federowicz in exchange for catcher Yasmani Grandal, pitcher Joe Wieland and Minor League pitcher Zach Eflin. The Dodgers also kicked in about $32 million of the remaining $107 million on Kemp's five-year contract.But the deal took longer to finish than expected after USA Today reported earlier Thursday that the physical Kemp took Tuesday in San Diego revealed arthritis in both of his hips and that the Padres were debating pulling out of the deal.Hours later, the Padres announced the completion of the trade with the integrity of the original deal in place -- with no revisions.It's been a busy week for the Padres, as first-year general manager A.J. Preller on Wednesday was able to land Rays outfielder Wil Myers as part of a three-team, 11-player deal. That deal hasn't been made official but is expected to be announced on Friday. Also announced along with the Kemp deal was a trade with the A's for catcher Derek Norris. But it's clear that Preller, hired in August and immediately charged with upgrading what was baseball's least productive offense in 2014, is serious about putting a contender on the field in 2015.The Kemp deal was one the Padres and Dodgers kicked around for weeks, one that continued last week at the Winter Meetings in the Padres' backyard in San Diego. Late last Wednesday, it came to fruition.Kemp has good history at Petco Park, as he has a career .322/.372/.495 line, with 14 doubles, seven home runs and 34 RBIs in 234 plate appearances in his new ballpark. He immediately becomes the middle-of-the-order bat the Padres have been seeking -- something they haven't had since Adrian Gonzalez was with San Diego from 2006-10.Kemp was drafted by the Dodgers by then-scouting director Logan White, who in October became the Padres' professional scouting director and senior advisor to Preller.Preller has said this winter the team was looking for "guys in a perfect world who would be a fit for us in a long-term type setting."They have that control in Kemp, whom the Padres are now on the hook for over the last five years and roughly $75 million of his existing contract, representing the largest contract obligation in club history.Kemp is coming off a big second half during which he hit .309/.365/.606 with 17 home runs and 54 RBIs in 263 plate appearances. That kind of production mirrored the kind he gave the Dodgers before hamstring and ankle injuries limited him to a combined 179 games in 2012-13.He'll likely play right field, though the Padres -- with the addition of Myers -- will have six outfielders who make more than the league minimum under contract for 2015, meaning there's a chance one of them gets moved this offseason as Preller continues to look for offensive upgrades.It's believed the Padres will look to bolster the corner-infield positions next.
Corey Brock/ MLB.com
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