The rumor mill is in overdrive as the Red Sox look west for a solution to their current array of problems.
The latest is shipping Jon Lester to the wealthy LA Dodgers in exchange for Matt Kemp, who last had a respectable season what seems like a lifetime ago. One pundit stated his picture is in the American Slang Dictionary under “has-been outfielders.”
The Dodgers have a $107M fiscal albatross around their corporate neck thanks to a long-term deal with Kemp that seems to run on into the distant sunset.
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Kemp, who another pundit claims “has the luxury suite at the DL Hotel,” checks in with slash line for 2014 of .277/.343/.432 with eight home runs and 40 RBI. Not a bad line if it was, say – Jonny Gomes?
Then comes Kemp’s speed. Kemp has five steals and has been caught five times. This is not the Kemp of a few years back.
The current season for Kemp mirrors the 2013 season, which shows a trend with a stamp of “Big Risk” written all over it. So the Red Sox would give up Lester for a huge question mark?
Lester is the real deal for 2014. The Dodgers already have elite pitching in Clayton Kershaw and Zack Greinke. Even Jon’s old beer swilling buddy, Josh Beckett, has resurrected his pitching life in 2014 and is locked into the rotation when he isn’t paying a visit to a triage unit. That will be one tough rotation.
How much will LA send to Boston?
The idea is not to pick up that contract. What would the cable rich Dodger’s send via a Western Union wire? I’d expect 80% of it. What I would really expect is Joc Pederson.
The good thing is Lester recently stated that “money does not buy happiness.” That is a real door opener to me for a return to Boston once free agency starts up. But, then again, the Dodgers have a lot of stuff that can certainly bring happiness.
Pass on Kemp.