UPDATE (Dec. 18, 9:05 a.m. PST): According to Bob Nightengale of USA TODAY Sports, the delay in the Matt Kemp trade is due to his physical revealing arthritis in his hips:
The holdup in Matt Kemp trade is because the physical revealed arthritis in both hips. The #Padres continue to consult medical experts.
— Bob Nightengale (@BNightengale) December 18, 2014
Today is the final day for the deal to be finalized and it will be up to the Padres and their medical staff to make a decision. While many Dodger fans have clamored for the trade to not be completed, Kemp returning to the Dodgers now would be an uncomfortable situation.
Furthermore, even if they managed to get past the fact that Kemp was nearly traded, the arthritis in his hips provides cause for concern moving forward.
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Since the Los Angeles Dodgers season came to an end, they’ve been intent on moving an outfielder. Andre Ethier was nearly traded to the Arizona Diamondbacks, but Matt Kemp drew the most trade interest.
At the Winter Meetings, the Dodgers and San Diego Padres agreed to a trade that would send Kemp, $32 million in cash, and Tim Federowicz in exchange for Yasmani Grandal and two pitching prospects. However, whereas the Dodgers formally announced their trades with the Miami Marlins and Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, they have yet to follow suit in their deal with the Padres.
With each passing day, speculation has grown over Kemp potentially failing his physical, which could put the trade at risk of not being completed. According to Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports, questions still remain, and while the Padres haven’t notified the Dodgers of any issues, they may look to alter the trade:
This is getting weird. #Padres official: “Still inconclusive on Kemp.” Is trade in jeopardy? “Not yet.”
— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) December 18, 2014
The #Padres, however, have yet to notify the #Dodgers of any concerns about Kemp.
— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) December 18, 2014
Deadline for Kemp trade to be completed is Thursday. Perhaps #Padres want to rework deal with #Dodgers. Could be posturing.
— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) December 18, 2014
During a conference call on Tuesday, Dodgers general manager Farhan Zaidi said the team wasn’t concerned with the physicals of the players involved in the trade being an issue. Kemp does have a long history of injuries, with the most recent being an ankle injury that cut his season short in 2013 and appeared to hamper him in the first half of 2014.
Should the Kemp trade come undone, it may also impact the Dodgers trade for Jimmy Rollins as it was expected one of the prospects received from the Padres was going to be sent to Philadelphia.
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