Matt Kemp drawing interest; may be most likely Dodgers outfielder to be dealt

Despite previous reports indicating that the Dodgers were inclined to keep outfielder Matt Kemp over Carl Crawford and Andre Ethier, the 30-year-old Kemp may now be the most likely of the trio to be dealt this winter, per CBS Sports' Jon Heyman, who reports that Kemp is drawing interest from other clubs.

Heyman lists a variety of reasons for Kemp possibly being dealt. For starters, there is questions surrounding Kemp's wanting to be a part of Los Angeles' organization. Crawford and Ethier are also seen as more difficult to move due to their bloated contracts. Kemp still has five-years and $107 million remaining on his current contract, but his performance has been adequate enough to not make that a huge financial burden. Furthermore, the Dodgers would like to start highly-regarded prospect Joc Pederson in center field next season, moving Yasiel Puig to right field, and Kemp to left, where he has publicly been against playing.

The 30-year-old Kemp rebounded nicely from an injury-plagued 2013 campaign last season, hitting .287/.346/.506 with a 140 OPS+ in 599 plate appearance. He also hit an outstanding .303/.363/.545 from June 1st on. While Kemp was excellent at the plate, he was a clear negative defensively, spending a significant amount of time at all three outfield positions and collecting a -23 defensive runs saved and -22.4 UZR. Were Kemp to be dealt, he would most likely end up in right field, where he was only slightly below-average in 2014 (-3 DRS in ~500 innings).

Heyman speculates that the Mariners, Blue Jays, and Orioles could get involved in talks for Kemp. The Mariners and Orioles are seeking right-handed power bats, and the Blue Jays have been connected to Kemp in the past.