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Austin
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ESPN LOS ANGELES -- The Los Angeles Dodgers are dealing with an increasingly delicate situation when it comes to former All-Star center fielder Matt Kemp.
Tonight was the fifth straight game that Kemp was out of the starting lineup.
And after the game, the whispers that Kemp had lost his job went public.
After tonight's game, Don Mattingly told reporters that last thursday, he told Kemp he was no longer the team's center fielder, after his particularly rough defensive night against the New York Mets at Citi Field. Four extra-base hits went over his head, contributing to all four Mets runs. Kemp also dropped a ball he picked up on the warning track to allow a run to score.
The MVP runner-up in 2011 has been openly grumbling about losing his starting job in the clubhouse, making for a tense situation for some players.
Dodgers general manager Ned Colletti said he isn't concerned with the potential for clubhouse discord now that the former superstar is no longer playing every day. He said he and Mattingly were on the same page, that the Dodgers needed to do something to fix the outfield defense.
One potential solution to the situation is to trade Kemp, but that will prove complicated, given the $107 million the Dodgers owe Kemp between the end of this season and 2019, and given his recent injury history.
Kemp, batting .264 with five home runs this season, played just 73 games last year and underwent ankle surgery in October.
Tonight was the fifth straight game that Kemp was out of the starting lineup.
And after the game, the whispers that Kemp had lost his job went public.
After tonight's game, Don Mattingly told reporters that last thursday, he told Kemp he was no longer the team's center fielder, after his particularly rough defensive night against the New York Mets at Citi Field. Four extra-base hits went over his head, contributing to all four Mets runs. Kemp also dropped a ball he picked up on the warning track to allow a run to score.
The MVP runner-up in 2011 has been openly grumbling about losing his starting job in the clubhouse, making for a tense situation for some players.
Dodgers general manager Ned Colletti said he isn't concerned with the potential for clubhouse discord now that the former superstar is no longer playing every day. He said he and Mattingly were on the same page, that the Dodgers needed to do something to fix the outfield defense.
One potential solution to the situation is to trade Kemp, but that will prove complicated, given the $107 million the Dodgers owe Kemp between the end of this season and 2019, and given his recent injury history.
Kemp, batting .264 with five home runs this season, played just 73 games last year and underwent ankle surgery in October.
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