Braves acquire Matt Kemp, send Hector Olivera to San Diego

The Atlanta Braves have found a trade that liberates them from third baseman Hector Olivera, who has been serving an 82 game suspension which ends august 1.

The trade agreement between the San Diego Padres and Atlanta Braves became official Saturday night.

The way the Braves figure it, they’re paying $8.5 million more per year for the next three seasons than the total amount they would’ve paid if they kept Olivera, who was owed $28.5 million over the next four seasons.

In exchange, the Padres got outfielder Matt Kemp off their books over the next three seasons in exchange for taking on Olivera.

The deal would reportedly be a swap of Kemp and Braves outfielder Hector Olivera. Kemp, 31, has struggled in two seasons since the Padres acquired him in a trade with the Los Angeles Dodgers. He has 23 home runs and 69 RBI. The Cuban defector is the second season of a six-year, $62.5 million contract. Olivera is owed a total of $47,166,668 through 2020, though the Dodgers are responsible for $18.68 million of that as well. “Making this trade now is a big deal for us because it helps us to get better for this year and the next three years after that”. 285 on-base percentage is miserable and he’s struck out 100 times compared to just 16 walks. 245 with two homers and 13 RBIs in 30 games with Atlanta.

Olivera is eligible to play again on August 1. He has been a major bust whereas Kemp has at least remained productive in terms of home runs. He was the National League MVP runner-up in 2011 after batting.

The Braves add Kemp who is not the player that he used to be, but is a right handed bat with power and that is something that the current team has a desperate need for.

The move of bad contracts allows the Padres to promote one of their outfield prospects – perhaps Manuel Margot or Hunter Renfroe. The Padres have also, in turn, designated Olivera for assignment – which is tantamount to cutting him.