Matt Kemp Released by Reds After Nick Senzel Promotion; Had Broken Rib Injury

The Cincinnati Reds released veteran outfielder Matt Kemp on Saturday.

Kemp, who is on the injured list with a broken rib, became expendable when the Reds called up top outfield prospect Nick Senzel on Friday.

Prior to landing on the IL, Kemp was hitting .200 with one home run and five RBI in 20 games.

Cincinnati acquired the 34-year-old Kemp from the Los Angeles Dodgers during the offseason in a salary-dump move that also brought outfielder Yasiel Puig, infielder Kyle Farmer and pitcher Alex Wood into the fold.

Kemp was coming off a strong season with the Dodgers in which he hit .290 with 21 homers and 85 RBI en route to his third career All-Star nod.

After spending the first nine seasons of his MLB career with the Dodgers, Kemp bounced around between the San Diego Padres, Atlanta Braves, Dodgers and Reds over the past few seasons.

Joel Sherman of the New York Post noted that Kemp's hefty contract had plenty to do with his constant movement:

Now that a team can pick up Kemp without having to take on a massive contract, there may be some interest in him as a depth outfielder.

Reds manager David Bell told Jeremy Rauch of Fox19 that Kemp was no longer a fit in Cincinnati with Senzel getting the call:

Per MLB.com, Senzel is the No. 5 prospect in baseball. Prior to his call-up, the 2016 No. 2 overall draft pick was hitting .257 with one home run and two RBI in eight Triple-A games.

With Senzel set for regular playing time, Kemp would have been a high-priced backup in Cincinnati since Puig and Jesse Winker are starting as well. The release of Kemp does leave the Reds with some depth problems in the outfield, though, since they have just three true outfielders on the major league roster.

Kemp is an accomplished player who has hit 20 or more home runs in a season eight times and finished second in the National League MVP voting in 2011.

He also boasts a career batting average of .285, which could make him a solid extra outfielder or designated hitter for an American League team at the very least.