Fantasy Baseball 2012: The Matt Kemp Post-Injury, Waiting-Game Conundrum

There's a tiny upside to the severity of Matt Kemp's hamstring injury.

For fantasy leagues that have a "DL" slot, be thankful the Dodgers opted to put Kemp (12 HRs, 28 RBI, 29 runs, two steals, .359 batting) on the 15-day disabled list.

If he had fought the team about being shelved for two weeks (his original plan), owners might have been stuck in that fantasy purgatory—where Kemp was filling up a precious bench spot but contributing nothing to the short-term pennant drive.

This absence begs another fantasy question: Would Kemp's owners get full market value for a superstar with a great track record for staying healthy?

In one-on-one talks with selected owners, maybe not. But if fantasy GMs were to advertise Kemp's availability to every league owner—courtesy of one simultaneous email or post—the odds of attaining market value would substantially increase.

In other words, if you're going to entertain serious offers for a star who can carry fantasy teams for weeks or months, do everything in your power to drive up the auction price. Create a market!

Plausible Kemp Trade Scenarios

1-for-2

• Kemp for Jered Weaver/Adam Jones
• Kemp for Hanley Ramirez/Cliff Lee
• Kemp for CC Sabathia/Andrew McCutchen
• Kemp for James Shields/Ian Kinsler 

2-for-4

• Kemp/Anibal Sanchez for Felix Hernandez/Pedro Alvarez/Jemile Weeks/Chris Sale
• Kemp/Mike Moustakas for Gio Gonzalez/Brett Lawrie/Ben Zobrist/Cameron Maybin
• Kemp/Brandon Phillips for Matt Cain/Jacoby Ellsbury/Nick Markakis/Dustin Ackley
• Kemp/Zack Greinke for Giancarlo Stanton/Dan Haren/Drew Smyly/Mike Trout

Jay Clemons can be reached on Twitter, day or night, at @ATL_JayClemons.