“We were candid with Matt that we made the trade for financial reasons,” Zaidi, the team’s general manager, told me during spring training. “But what he told us was that all he wanted was an opportunity. He loved being with the Dodgers before and he just wanted a chance to earn a spot on the team and earn playing time.”
Kemp took the offer seriously and, to their credit, the Dodgers gave him a bonafide chance at playing time during spring training. It didn’t hurt that he showed up 40 pounds lighter than he was last season in Atlanta, where after a fast start he battled hamstring issues, the latest in a string of injuries that gnawed away at his former MVP-level play.