MLB Player News

The Dodgers and Padres have agreed to a deal that will send outfielder Matt Kemp to San Diego, confirms CBSSports.com Baseball Insider Jon Heyman. News that the deal had finally come together was first reported by Yahoo!

The trade has been in the works for some time, but was dependent on Kemp passing a physical. It was reported early Thursday that Kemp's physical revealed arthritic hips. The Padres had to to figure out insurance on the contract, which is why it took so long for the deal to go through.

Catcher Tim Federowicz will also head to San Diego in the deal. The Dodgers will send $32 million over as well. 

In return, Los Angeles is set to receive catcher Yasmani Grandal and pitcher Joe Weiland and Zach Eflin. Eflin is expected to be flipped to Philadelphia for shortstop Jimmy Rollins.

The 30-year-old Kemp hit .287/.346/.506 over 541 at-bats last year. Kemp is set to earn a little over $21 million in each of the next five seasons. 

The Diamondbacks selected catcher Oscar Hernandez from the Rays in Thursday's Rule 5 draft. 

The 21-year-old Hernandez hit .249 with nine home runs, 18 doubles and 63 RBI in 94 games for Class A Bowling Green in 2014. He has a career .275/.358/.469/.827 slash line in 292 minor-league games.

Pirates general manager Neal Huntington said he is "very comfortable" with the catcher tandem of Francisco Cervelli and Chris Stewart after failing to re-sign catcher Russell Martin, according to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. The Pirates acquired Cervelli in a trade with the Yankees.

"Francisco was an aggressive acquire for us," Huntington said, "and Chris did a heck of a job for us last year. We feel very comfortable with the defensive side, and we feel Francisco has some bat upside.

"At this point in time, we would feel very comfortable if opening day were tomorrow and this was our catching mix."

The Padres continue to talk with the Dodgers about a trade involving outfielder Matt Kemp, as it appears San Diego is the most likely landing spot if Los Angeles decides to deal Kemp, according to CBSSports.com Baseball Insider Jon Heyman.

One deal being discussed would involve the Dodgers receiving catcher Yasmani Grandal and starting pitcher prospect Zach Elfin, sources said.

The Padres are looking like the most likely destination for Dodgers outfielder Matt Kemp, according to USA Today MLB columnist Bob Nightengale. The Padres are offering catcher Yasmani Grandal and another player in a deal for Kemp, who is still owed $107 million over the next five years.

CBSSports.com Baseball Insider Jon Heyman reported last week the Padres were one of three teams showing interest in Kemp. The other two were the Orioles and Mariners.

The Giants avoided arbitration with catcher Hector Sanchez, agreeing to a one-year, $800,000 contract, according to the San Francisco Chronicle. Sanchez hit .196 with three home runs and 28 RBI in 66 games last season.

The Pirates have tendered a contract to 11 arbitration-eligible players prior to Tuesday's deadline, according to the team's official website. Those players include: Sean Rodriguez, Neil Walker, Francisco Cervelli, Mark Melancon, Chris Stewart, Travis Snider, Pedro Alvarez, Tony Watson, Josh Harrison, Jared Hughes and Vance Worley.

The Giants have tendered contracts to all six arbitration-eligible players, per the team's official website on Tuesday. Those players include: Brandon Belt, Brandon Crawford, Gregor Blanco, Hector Sanchez, Travis Ishikawa and Yusmeiro Petit.

Padres vice president of scouting operations Don Welke said he heard good things about catcher Yasmani Grandal, who hit .328 with a .469 on-base percentage in the Dominican winter league. He also had seven doubles, two homers and 14 RBI in 19 games, while totaling 18 walks against 15 strikeouts.

"The reports were all good on Grandal," Welke said, per MLB.com. "He looked sharper offensively and defensively. You know he's doing good when quite a few teams express interest in him. I think he's got a chance to have a lot of impact."

The Mets have signed catcher Johnny Monell to a minor-league deal.

Monell spent time with the Orioles and Dodgers last season. He hit .238/.301/.364 over 206 at-bats in Triple-A.