Written by ESPN News Staff at ESPN.com
The Atlanta Braves traded outfielder Matt Kemp to the Los Angeles Dodgers for Adrian Gonzalez, Brandon McCarthy, Scott Kazmir and Charlie Culberson, the teams announced Saturday.
The Braves, who also received cash considerations in the deal, immediately designated Gonzalez for assignment after the veteran waived his no-trade clause since Atlanta already is set at first base with Freddie Freeman.
“This allows him the opportunity to go and find some playing time,” new Braves general manager Alex Anthopoulos said of Gonzalez.
There also is the question of whether Kemp, who is owed about $43 million over the next two seasons, will even play for the Dodgers. He could again be traded as Los Angeles tries to further lower payroll after moving quickly to dump nearly $50 million in salary committed to Gonzalez, Kazmir and McCarthy for 2018.
“I was very open and honest with him about what the future might hold,” Dodgers president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman told reporters in a conference call Saturday. “It’s just too difficult to say, definitively, at this point.”
With the deal, Los Angeles, which had baseball’s highest payroll last season at $240 million, has gotten below the luxury tax threshold of $197 million. After five seasons on the wrong side of the threshold, the Dodgers were penalized 50 percent on every dollar spent above the luxury tax figure last season.
“This deal is a little more subtle than most,” Dodgers president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman said in a conference call Saturday. “Obviously, one of the main considerations in this deal was economic. But they’re part of the bigger picture, the longer-term plan. It’s a necessary, strategic part of moves yet to come.”
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