Texas Rangers Trade Rumors: Elvis Andrus for Matt Kemp from Dodgers, Deal Was on the Table

Nov 15, 2013 03:56 PM EST
Texas Rangers Trade Rumors, Matt Kemp, Elvis Andrus
(Left) Texas Rangers' Elvis Andrus reacts after being called out on strikes against New York Yankees pitcher David Robertson (Right) Los Angeles Dodgers outfielder Matt Kemp pops a new piece of bubble gum as he heads out to the field. Reuters"

The Texas Rangers are still searching for outfield help and they might have found a solution. It proved to go nowhere, but the Los Angeles Dodgers were interested in liberating the Rangers of Elvis Andrus while Matt Kemp would have moved to Texas in the deal. What happened? Well the obvious; nada!

Why was this trade considered?
Being that the Rangers are short in the outfield, plus, they could use a power bat to anchor the middle of the lineup, Kemp was a solid candidate. Similar to the Rangers, the Dodgers could address their long-term issues in the infield with Andrus.

In the outfield for the Rangers, entering the 2013 season, they will have Alex Rios as the only established player. He is followed by Craig Gentry, who has been around for some time now and Leonys Martin, who had his moments with the Rangers in 2013. The other two guys on the roster are Jim Adduci and Engel Beltre. Sort like an NBA roster featuring a few top paid superstars with the rest of the players being prospects or inexpensive acquistions from the market.

This would explain their interesting in Kemp, who is an expendable outfielder in the Dodgers' roster. L.A. is stacked with Andre Ethier, Yasiel Puig and Carl Crawford patrolling the fields of Dodger Stadium. Kemp has a hefty contract in his years remaining, explaining why the Rangers would consider a swap for their shortstop, Andrus. 

$$$ vs. $$$ 
Andrus, who will be 25 during the 2014 season, is signed for 10 more years. It may seem like an impulsive contract as the shortstop received a whopping eight-year, $118 million year extension on top of receiving a three-year, $14.4 million contract. His numbers are not even out of this world. Yes, he can steal a few bags, but he does not hit home runs, he is a career .274 hitter with a .339 on-base percentage. He has 10 years and $142 million left, and can opt out of his contract in 2018 or 2019. In 2023, the final year of his contract, Andrus will have a $15 million vesting option.

Compare that to Kemp and the outfielder has only six years left in his deal, but it's heavy paper. These six years are worth over $21 million, topping out at $128 million before the termination of his deal. 

Kemp is injury prone. Andrus has his inadequacies, but both have big followings as they reached superstardom at very young ages. 

The deal was ultimately called off as neither side agreed to anything. 

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