On Monday night the Los Angeles Dodgers defeated the Colorado Rockies 11-3, but not before Rockies' TV cameras caught Dodgers outfielders Matt Kemp and Yasiel Puig engaging in a verbal argument in the team's dugout. Could this affect their status on the team next year?
Kemp has been in trade discussions since the MLB winter meetings, but because of his enormous contract and extensive injury history the outfielder has been hard to move. The closest Kemp came to being traded, based on rumors, was prior to the trade deadline when scouts within the Boston Red Sox organization suggested such a move would bolster the team's outfield. It was speculated that the Sox would trade starting pitcher Jon Lester for Kemp and a prospect, but the Dodgers reiterated their unwillingness to part with young talent.
The Dodgers have a crowded outfield consisting of Kemp, Puig, Andre Ethier, Carl Crawford and now the recently promoted Pacific Coast League Player of the Year in the minor leagues, Joc Pederson. Despite all of the talent there, manager Don Mattingly simply cannot fit all of these guys into the lineup, especially because the NL doesn't have a designated hitter spot. And if they wish to work in Pederson for next year they're going to have to get rid of one of these players. What many seem to overlook is that Yasiel Puig could be that guy.
Looking at all of the contracts of these players, Puig has by far the most moveable salary and would yield the most in return. Kemp is signed through 2020 and is owed $21.5 million per year; Ethier is signed through 2018 and is owed at least $17.5 million per year and; Crawford is signed through 2017 and is due at least $20 million per year. On the other hand, Puig's contract is very attractive. His salary spikes from $3.7 million to $6.2 million next year, but only increases $1 million from 2015 to 2018. He's arbitration eligible in 2019 and will be a free agent in 2020. Might the Dodgers consider trading him to either get a more stable solution at third base or another starting pitcher to increase the depth of their rotation? Prospects wouldn't hurt either.
And despite Puig's tremendous talent and friendly contract, the outfielder has been a big distraction to a clubhouse that is already characterized as "dysfunctional" by several sources with such knowledge. The 23-year-old has allegedly received death threats from the human traffickers who smuggled him from Cuba to Mexico (where he was then granted residency by the Mexican government and signed by the Dodgers); he's been benched numerous times for disciplinary reasons on top of making boneheaded plays on the base path and; he's been arrested twice now for reckless driving charges.
Before Puig becomes untradeable because of his off-field issues, the Dodgers should strongly consider shopping him in the offseason and further develop Joc Pederson in center field. It's likely that Los Angeles will just have to absorb the salaries of Kemp, Ethier and Crawford, but that should be a lesson to the organization in terms of their salary cap moves in the future.
