From Beast to Payroll Reduction Mode...

Matt Kemp trade rumors are swirling and that is perfectly understandable with his torrid second half of baseball this year.  Kemp rose from the ashes back to being relevant, and that's good when you consider that we all had pretty much written him off after last season.  His salary was considered a true albatross and addition to the Dodgers woes.  Now, that $106 million he is owed for the next five seasons doesn't seem too overwhelming.

Shoulder surgery recoveries take time, and for Kemp, it took two surgeries and two years for him t regain his strength.  Adrian Gonzalez warned him of that, as he had the same surgery back in Boston, and his power was sapped for a spell.  Now that Kemp's strength has returned, it really wouldn't be surprising if he hit between 35 and 40 homers next season.  Whether it'll be in a Dodger uniform is the real question now.

Though many have written that Andrew Friedman has moved on to a team that is capable of buying the World Series, what they aren't realizing was that the Colette regime had pretty much maxed out on spending by the time he got here.  The Dodgers are a team loaded with over paid contracts for underperforming players.  It's safe to say that Crawford, Ether, League, Wilson, Uribe, and even Kemp and Gonzalez are actually overpaid.  It frankly wouldn't surprise me to see Friedman peddle off some of those expensive players, like Kemp (their most attractive chess piece), in order to lower payroll and make the team younger.  If Crawford or Ether leave via trade, you can count on the Dodgers eating a good portion of those contracts.

That's not what a lot of fans want to hear, but all signs point to it so far this off season.  The Dodgers are lowering payroll.  I could be wrong, but I don't think so.  

Patience Dodger fans...patience will be the word with this administration.  Building a young nucleus with this team won't happen overnight.