Matt Kemp Is Perfect Fit With Seattle Mariners
By Nick Ziegler
@ziggy26x
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The Los Angeles Dodgers are heading into the offseason after a disappointing early exit in the playoffs at the hands of the St. Louis Cardinals. The Dodgers’ roster is full of big contacts and big talents, but one issue for manager Don Mattingly has been trying to handle how to give playing time to all of his outfielders. Los Angeles right now has Andre Either, Carl Crawford, Yasiel Puig, Matt Kemp and a talented young prospect in Joc Pederson, who is ready to be in the major leagues.
When a logjam occurs like that at any position, most of the time it means a trade is coming, and for the Dodgers most of the talk has been about moving Kemp.
Last season Kemp had a big bounce-back season after a few that were shortened by injuries. In 2014, Kemp hit .287 with 25 home runs and 89 RBIs in 150 games. Kemp is only a few years removed from his monstrous 2011 season, when he finished second in the MVP voting behind Ryan Braun.
With a good and most importantly healthy year in 2014, Kemp should be able to bring the Dodgers back some talent in a trade, and there should be a good amount of teams that would like to add the talented Kemp. But no team makes more sense for Kemp than the Seattle Mariners.
Last season the Mariners made two big splashes in free agency by adding Robinson Cano from the New York Yankees and closer Fernando Rodney from the Tampa Bay Rays. The Mariners’ pitching rotation is one of the better ones in baseball led by Felix Hernandez, but their lineup could use some help; Kemp would certainly provide that.
The Mariners’ offense was in the bottom half of the league in 2014 in most major offensive categories. Despite a great season from Cano, Seattle was 18th in runs scored, 23rd in batting average, 27th in on base percentage and 21st in slugging percentage.
Seattle finished with 87 wins in 2014, which was just shy of enough for them to make the playoffs. But if they are able to land an offensive talent like Kemp for 2015, they should be able to win 90 games and make the playoffs next season.
Nick Ziegler is a New York Jets writer for www.RantSports.com. Follow him on Twitter @Ziggy26x and add him to your network on Google.
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