Los Angeles Dodgers outfielder Matt Kemp has made one pinch-hit appearance for the team in the last five games, and the former All-Star outfielder is growing increasingly frustrated with his lack of playing time.
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According to ESPN, Dodgers manager Don Mattingly said the team is waiting for Kemp to feel comfortable taking fly balls in the outfield before putting him back in the lineup, but he was scratched for a fifth straight game when the Dodgers defeated the Cincinnati Reds 6-3 on Tuesday.
Following a rough outing against the Mets on Thursday at Citi Field, Mattingly told Kemp that he was no longer the everyday centerfielder after the Mets scored four runs on balls that went over his head. ESPN reports that the 2011 runner-up for NL MVP was openly grumbling in the clubhouse after it was revealed that he lost his starting job.
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"It's frustrating any day you're not playing. I'm here to play baseball. I'm here to help my team win any way possible," Kemp told Fox Sports.
The Dodgers are repotedly planning on having Kemp switch from centerfield to left and they've had him shag fly balls out there to prepare for the move.
Kemp insisted he feels good enough out there to play.
"I feel good," Kemp told Fox Sports. "Like I said, I just want to play."
General manager Dave Colletti said he isn't concerned with there being a disconnect in the clubhouse and he said he just wants the team's defense to improve.
"We have a strong room," Colletti told ESPN about the clubhouse. "I only care about one thing: winning. The Dodgers supersede everything. That's the way I think, and I think that's the way we should all be thinking about this."
Kemp's agent, Dave Stewart, said he doesn't believe that his client would fit in well in a reserve role as it's something the former superstar has never done.
"In my experience as a player, that role was always filled by a veteran type of a guy. When I was coming up, it was a Manny Mota kind of guy, a special type of player who can handle that role," Stewart said per ESPN. "Guys like Matt, who is 29, a former All-Star and almost an MVP, were never in a role like that."
One option for the Dodgers, who have a glut in the outfield, could be to trade Kemp, but the outfielder is owed $107 million between this season and 2019 and given his history of being injury plagued, it may be difficult for the team to move him.
Kemp is hitting .262 with five homers and 13 RBIs this season after playing in just 73 games in 2013 and 106 in 2012 due to injuries. He is also coming off of having ankle surgery in October.
With Andre Ethier, Yasiel Puig and Carl Crawford taking up a lot of the playing time, Kemp's role on the team has diminished and his defensive struggles have kept him out of the lineup.
Despite Kemp's displeasure, Mattingly said he plans to use all of his outfielders in the lineup.
"We're going to use him," Mattingly said. "We're going to use Carl, we're going to use Andre, I'm going to use Yasiel."
While he plans on using them, he hasn't been and Kemp hasn't been silent about his impatience.
The Dodgers are 29-24 this season and sit in second place in the NL West.
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