The Seattle Mariners have looked into a number of trades this summer as the deadline approaches and Matt Kemp is one of their main targets along with Alex Rios, Chris Denorfia, Josh Willingham, Starling Marte, Marlon Byrd and Ben Zobrist and those are some names they could look at before Thursday as they try and get more in their offense after getting Kendrys Morales.
According to ESPN.com, the Mariners are one of a number of teams interested in Kemp, including the Boston Red Sox and they could trade for him and use him in the outfield and at DH. Jeff Passan at Yahoo writes that the Mariners could look at moving Kemp to DH eventually, but he would be a slight upgrade over what they have been getting in the outfield, as he is hitting 20 points higher than the group the M's currently have.
Kemp is clearly no longer the player he once was, but if he can return to even a shell of that it could be worth it, as the Mariners have been terrible on offense, especially during this last stretch of games. The team has gotten some lights out pitching but they can't score at all and if they don't add a bat soon, there is no chance they are making the playoffs. Robinson Cano needs more in the lineup apart from Morales and Kyle Seager and Kemp could be the option.
Kemp is in a crowded outfield with Andre Ethier, Carl Crawford, Yasiel Puig, and Scott Van Slyke along with top prospect Joc Pederson on his way up and the Dodgers would love nothing more than to deal him. Kemp has eight home runs and 40 RBI this season with a .273 batting average and has been playing in right field for the Dodgers and has shuffled in and out of the lineup. The Mariners have been struggling mightily this season on offense, especially since the All-Star break and now that they have traded for Kendrys Morales, Jack Zduriencik may have some more moves to make.
According to ESPN Boston, the Red Sox still feel like they are in the playoff race and they could look at Kemp as an option. The team has money obviously and one player they could look at dealing is Jon Lester, as he has come up in trade rumors and could get moved. Lester said that he would be willing to sign back with the Red Sox as a free agent if he gets traded and the Dodgers could be willing to do that, since they want to rid themselves of Kemp's deal and also are looking for pitching at the deadline.
The team thinks that Kemp could hit in Fenway Park and while David Ortiz has the DH down, the team could use some outfield help and some depth overall. The contract Kemp has still will pay him over $100 million, but it could be worth it for these teams.
