Guerry Clegg: Matt Kemp trade gives Braves some hope

So, let me get this straight.

The Atlanta Braves just added Matt Kemp, a bona fide power hitter.

One who actually WANTS to play for the Braves.

And they dumped Hector Olivera along with his contract.

All this for about $9 million per year — net after subtracting Olivera’s dead money — when the going rate for a 30-homer guy is at least double that.

What’s the catch?

Sure, Kemp, who will be 32 by the end of the season, is no longer one of the top five offensive players in baseball. You know who else wasn’t when he was 32? Chipper Jones. But Chipper still had a lot of production left in him until his last season.

Kemp is still a very productive player. He doesn’t walk much and strikes out a tad more than you’d like. Other than that, he’s pretty solid, as his rankings among all major league hitters shows. He’s tied for 16th with 23 home runs and tied for 13th with 69 RBIs. Keep in mind he was playing in San Diego, which has one of the most pitcher-friendly ballparks in baseball.

Kemp debuted Tuesday night for the Braves against the Pittsburgh Pirates. Kemp’s presence in the lineup instantly made Freddie Freeman a better hitter. The fact that he bats right-handed and adds power to the outfield are huge bonuses. Inserting him into the cleanup spot allows Nick Markakis to drop down a spot.

The addition of Kemp alone does not make the Braves a contender for next season. But it does give them a boost going into this offseason, when they will have money to spend with Michael Bourn, Nick Swisher, Eric Aybar and their portion of Cameron Maybin’s contract coming off the books.

Look at it this way. Kemp is a better all-around player than Markakis, and he’s costing the Braves about $2 million less than Markakis.

But the benefits go beyond the financial flexibility. The trade was positive for several intangible reasons. Such as:

▪  It sends the right message to the fans.

“We feel this is just the first piece of what we’re going to do this winter to begin to turn this club back around,” said John Hart, Braves president for baseball operations.

General manager John Coppolella addressed the notion that the Braves want to finish with the worst record in baseball so they can lock up the first pick in next year’s draft.

“It’s a sign that we aren’t happy losing and we aren’t trying to finish with the worst record so that we can get the first pick,” he said. “We want to win every night. Making this trade now is a big deal for us because it helps us to get better for this year and the next three years after that.”

▪  More importantly, it sends the right message to players who will be free agents after the season. Despite their terrible record (37-68 going into Tuesday night’s game), the Braves are not that far from being competitive. With a few more additions, they could be a .500 team, and maybe even a little better, next season. If they’re able to add another solid hitter to the middle of the order, that would push Markakis down another slot. He has more value batting sixth than fifth.

▪  Kemp will help in the clubhouse. He’s a veteran who works hard and plays hard every day. That’s especially important as the young prospects start to make their way to Atlanta. As I was watching the alumni homecoming last weekend, it struck me that the guys who really led the worst-to-first turnaround in 1991 were Terry Pendleton, Sid Bream, Greg Olson, Charlie Leibrandt and Alejandro Pena. Other than Pendleton, who was the National League MVP, the rest were just solid veteran starters who knew how to win.

I’m not suggesting the Braves could win the NL East next season. But they don’t have to. All they have to do is win 80-plus games to show improvement, and maybe even grab the final wildcard spot.

It might also end the constant speculation that the Braves would trade Julio Teheran or Freeman for another batch of prospects. That would be the worst thing they could do as they move into SunTrust Field.

This story was originally published August 2, 2016 at 9:15 PM with the headline "Guerry Clegg: Matt Kemp trade gives Braves some hope."