Report: Matt Kemp Trade Held Up Because He Has Old-Lady Hips

The Padres were all set to add two big new pieces to their outfield with Wil Myers and Matt Kemp both coming in via semi-blockbuster trades, but the Kemp deal has hit a last-minute snag, thanks to the 30-year-old's arthritic hips.

USA Today's Bob Nightengale has the scoop:

The Padres and Dodgers agreed to a trade a week ago that would send Kemp, catcher Tim Federowicz and $32 million to San Diego for catcher Yasmani Grandal and pitching prospects Joe Wieland and Zach Eflin.

Yet, Kemp's physical that was taken Tuesday revealed the arthritis, which caught him by surprise. The Padres' physicians now are discussing whether the arthritis would impact his career.

If the Padres decide that they no longer want Kemp, the Dodgers would then have to re-work their trade with the Phillies, which had them sending one of the pieces from the Kemp trade, Zach Eflin, in a package to Philly in exchange for Jimmy Rollins.

The more likely outcome will be the Padres demanding that the Dodgers eat a bigger chunk of Kemp's salary. The original trade had L.A. covering $32 million of the remaining $107 million in Kemp's contract, and a little extra cash is probably all the grease this trade would need. The Padres were surely already well aware that Kemp is a huge injury risk, and using this new information to squeeze a few more dollars out of the Dodgers—who have mounds and mounds of money and are probably willing to spend a lot of it just to rid themselves of Kemp—would just be a nice bonus on top of a deal they were already happy to make.

[ USA Today]