Kemp to the Padres is heating up

For the first time in his career, Matt Kemp could be on his way out of LA.

I know, I know... we've certainly been through this before.  Kemp has battled trade rumors his whole career, save for a couple of years in which he turned himself into an MVP candidate.  But after coming off a season in which he hit .287 with 25 homers and 89 RBIs, perhaps the Dodgers feel the time is right to move him while he's healthy and his stock is high.

That leads us to his likely destination, the San Diego Padres.  The latest talk is that Kemp would move to the Padres for catcher Yasmani Grandal and a prospect.  The holdup appears to be just who that other prospect would be, along with how much of Kemp's contract the Dodgers would have to eat.

Those two things certainly aren't minor, so keep in mind that no matter what is reported, nothing is a guarantee until both sides make it official.

To take a quick look at Grandal, he's mostly a catcher who can sprinkle in some first base as well.  He's an emerging power threat from the right side of the plate, and is only 27.  Last season he hit 15 homers, 19 doubles, and 49 RBIs in 128 games.  So you can see why the Dodgers would like to add him, especially with the virtually non-existent numbers from A.J. Ellis last year.

The downside is that Grandal has already been busted for 50 games in 2012 for PEDs, and tore his ACL and MCL in July of 2013.  For his case, you hope he's already been through the worst of things.

One other guy who has been whispered to come along with Grandal is pitching prospect Matt Wisler, who is the Padres' #2 ranked prospect according to MLB.com.  He's a righty with both good movement and good control, so you can see why he'd be coveted.

Stay tuned to see if the Dodgers and Padres indeed do pull the trigger on this.