Kemp trade, lineup stability made difference for Atlanta Braves

Isn’t it funny how something that looked so disastrous turned into something special for the Atlanta Braves?

That’s the best way to describe two trades that happened July 30, one year apart. It went from an eyebrow-raising deal to something that directly impacted the final two months of the 2016 season.

First, let’s go back to that Thursday night in late July, 2015. The Braves made a three-team trade with the Los Angeles Dodgers and Marlins. It was a blockbuster.

The Dodgers got Jim Johnson, Bronson Arroyo, Luis Avilan, Jose Peraza, Alex Wood, Mat Latos and Mike Morse. The Miami Marlins got Victor Araujo, Jeff Brigham and Kevin Guzman. The Braves wound up with Hector Olivera, Zach Bird, Paco Rodriguez and a competitive balance pick in the 2016 draft.

Wood for Olivera was a main part of the trade for the Braves. They were taking a member of the rotation and getting a potential significant bat in return. The Braves had heavily scouted Olivera before he signed with the Dodgers in spring training last year. They believed in his offensive potential.

But Olivera flopped. He didn’t do well late last season, and Olivera was then given the job as the starting left fielder to start this season. But in the second week, Olivera was arrested in Washington on assault charges.

A suspension followed, and then general manager John Coppolella was blasted for his most unpopular and most unsuccessful trade since taking over as general manager.

But then, just days before the Braves were to make a decision on Olivera’s potential return, Coppolella somehow traded Olivera to San Diego. The Padres wanted to save some money and did by shedding the remaining money on Matt Kemp’s contract. To do that, the Braves convinced San Diego to take Olivera off their hands.

The deal was made exactly one year to the day from the original deal with the Dodgers.

When the trade was made, most fans were probably indifferent. Kemp was a MVP-caliber player a few years ago for the Dodgers, but his reputation became tarnished with a belief (for whatever reason) he was not a good teammate and decreasing numbers at the plate.

But the Braves were in need of a slugger, something that is not always easy to find. Freddie Freeman was already on pace for his highest home run totals in his career, but anyone who watched the Braves knew another power bat was desperately needed.

Kemp made an instant impact. Manager Brian Snitker put Kemp in the cleanup spot and over the next few weeks found a lineup that worked. First, Snitker moved Ender Inciarte to the leadoff spot in the lineup. Then when Erick Aybar was traded, Snitker moved Adonis Garcia to the two spot. He then moved Nick Markakis to the five spot, behind Kemp.

Snitker stuck with Inciarte, Garcia, Freeman, Kemp and Markakis for the top five spots in the order for most of the rest of the season. In the 36 games those five players were at the top of the lineup, the Braves went 20-16 and averaged 5.2 runs per game.

Kemp hit .280 in his 56 games with the Braves, with 12 home runs and 39 RBI. The Braves were 31-25 in those games. But the real impact was on Freeman, who hit .340 after Kemp joined the lineup with 16 home runs and 49 RBI.

When the lineup was set Aug. 17, Garcia and Markakis also thrived. Garcia hit .287 in his final in the two hole, with five home runs and 26 RBI in 178 at-bats. Markakis hit six home runs and drove in 23 in 38 games after being placed in the five hole on that same day.

Oh, by the way. The big trade really didn’t work out too well for the Dodgers. Johnson struggled and wound up re-signing with the Braves. Arroyo was a salary dump. Avilan hasn’t been quite as effective with the Dodgers as he was in Atlanta. Peraza was later traded to the Cincinnai Reds, where he played well this season as a rookie. Wood has made only 22 starts the past two years with Los Angeles.

So the end result of the trade in 2015 has the Braves now with a cleanup hitter (Kemp) who finished the 2016 season (with Atlanta and San Diego) with 35 home runs and 108 RBI. Rodriguez had Tommy John surgery, but the Braves are confident he could be part of the bullpen next season. And the draft pick turned into left-hander Joey Wentz, who was very impressive in his first taste of pro ball in the Gulf Coast League and in Danville.

Kemp bonded with Freeman on and off the field. The two became fast friends and with Kemp under contract for three more years, the Braves now have a very good duo for the middle of the lineup.

It helped that Kemp grew up a Braves fan. The reputation he gained in Los Angeles and San Diego was replaced by a productive and happy player in Atlanta.

How Coppolella was able to get Kemp for Olivera is still amazing. Perhaps Kemp’s reputation was so tarnished that no one else would have taken him. Regardless, the Braves saw the results of what Kemp means to the lineup with a great finish to the 2016 season.

The offense, and how the lineup fell into place with Kemp as the cleanup man, was the difference. Before the trade getting Kemp, the Braves were 37-68 and averaged 3.4 runs per game. After the deal, the Braves went 31-25 and averaged 5.2 runs per game.

The Braves had power hitter on their list of needs for the future, but Coppolella’s trade with San Diego took care of that. For him to rid the Braves of Olivera and at the same time acquire an impactful player like Kemp may turn out to be one of his best trades the last two years.

This story was originally published October 3, 2016 at 12:28 PM with the headline "Kemp trade, lineup stability made difference for Atlanta Braves."