The Cincinnati Reds rejuvenated their roster in the off-season with hopes of surprising the NL Central, in fact, the entire National League, by contending. So far, not so good, as they are off to a dismal 14-19 start, which is good for last place in the division. One of the key components to that rejuvenation process was the acquisition of not only Yasiel Puig from the Los Angeles Dodgers, but also the veteran presence of Matt Kemp. Unfortunately, that process was hampered with injuries early on, leading to the Reds cutting ties with Kemp on Saturday. This move comes just four months after they acquired him in a December 2018 trade.
Kemp was placed on the injured list on April 23rd with a broken left rib, and the healing process for him was just not up to par with what the team was hoping. The injury occurred when he ran in to the wall during a game at Petco Park against his former team, the San Diego Padres.
Before the injury, the outfielder was hitting just .200 with one home run and five RBIs. The veteran came over with Puig, Alex Wood, and Kyle Farmer from the Dodgers, and was in the final season of an eight-year, $160 million contract. That deal ended up spanning over three teams, as the 34-year-old found some success during the Dodgers' run to the World Series last season. It was his second stint in Los Angeles, but Cincinnati just was not working out for him, and the Reds are doing everything to figure out why the new-look team can't find any consistency. Manager David Bell said after the move that the cetnerfield spot now belongs to top prospect, Nick Senzel, who hit his first-career home run in a win over the San Francisco Giants on Saturday.
Kemp was placed on the injured list on April 23rd with a broken left rib, and the healing process for him was just not up to par with what the team was hoping. The injury occurred when he ran in to the wall during a game at Petco Park against his former team, the San Diego Padres.
Before the injury, the outfielder was hitting just .200 with one home run and five RBIs. The veteran came over with Puig, Alex Wood, and Kyle Farmer from the Dodgers, and was in the final season of an eight-year, $160 million contract. That deal ended up spanning over three teams, as the 34-year-old found some success during the Dodgers' run to the World Series last season. It was his second stint in Los Angeles, but Cincinnati just was not working out for him, and the Reds are doing everything to figure out why the new-look team can't find any consistency. Manager David Bell said after the move that the cetnerfield spot now belongs to top prospect, Nick Senzel, who hit his first-career home run in a win over the San Francisco Giants on Saturday.
