Dodgers Rumors: Matt Kemp to Join Team in Advisory Role; Spent 10 Years with LAD

Longtime Los Angeles Dodgers outfielder Matt Kemp reportedly is returning to the team in an advisory role, according to Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic.

Per that report, the "role isn't finalized yet" but the expectation is that Kemp will return to the organization where he spent parts of 10 seasons.

Kemp, 39, spent his first nine seasons with the Dodgers (2006-14) before being traded to the San Diego Padres. He spent parts of two seasons in San Diego before brief stints with the Atlanta Braves (2016-17), a return to the Dodgers in 2018 and one-year spells with the Cincinnati Reds (2019) and Colorado Rockies (2020).

In total, Kemp hit .284 with 287 homers, 1,031 RBI, 950 runs, 184 stolen bases and a .821 OPS. He was a three-time All-Star, two time Golden Glove award-winner and a two time Silver Slugger.

His best year came in 2011, when he hit .324 with 39 homers, 126 RBI, 115 runs, 40 stolen bases and a .986 OPS, all career highs. He finished as the runner-up in the NL MVP voting that season to Ryan Braun, a controversial decision that likely came down to Braun's Milwaukee Brewers winning 96 games while Kemp's Dodgers missed the playoffs.

That decision looked all the more controversial in 2013 when Braun was suspended 65 games for using performance-enhancing drugs and violating baseball's drug policy.

"I mean, yeah, I do," Kemp told reporters when asked if he thought Braun should be stripped of his MVP award following the announcement of his suspension. "I feel like it should be, but that's not for me to decide, you know?"

As for the Dodgers, the team recently brought back a number of retired former players. Nelson Cruz will serve as an advisor for the team "expected to work mostly out of the team's academy in his native Dominican Republic," per ESPN's Alden González, while Chris Archer returned to the team as a an assistant to the baseball operations department.

"It's giving me an opportunity to learn and help some younger players, too," Archer told the Post-Gazette (h/t ESPN). "Player development, scouting, analytics, roster construction, draft, trade... everything I can possibly learn from that perspective so that I can make a decision whether I want to go the player development or front office route."

Tyson Ross also returned to the team in Feb. 2023 as a special assistant in player development and player performance.