Los Angeles Dodgers OF Matt Kemp reinjured his left hamstring and the Dodgers have placed him on the 15-day disabled list. Kemp’s injury is a major loss for the Dodgers because of their position right now in the National League West. Currently, the Dodgers are in first place leading the second place San Francisco Giants by 4 games. Now with Matt Kemp’s hamstring injury the door is open for the Giants to jump right ahead and take over first place in the NL West.
While it is still early in the baseball season, it is hard to believe that the Dodgers will be able to sustain playing at a high level without Matt Kemp. He is arguably the best player in baseball and the Dodgers without question need him out there playing and producing for them. According to ESPN, Kemp has played in 36 games, has a .355 batting average with 12 homeruns and 28 RBI so far this season. As the Dodgers NL West lead continues to shrink and with Kemp out of the lineup, this is setting up to become a disaster for the Dodgers at least in the short term.
The Los Angeles Dodgers team trainer, Sue Falsone, was very honest when she spoke about Matt Kemp’s hamstring injury. In an ESPN article, Falsone said, “Kemp could deal with hamstring issues for the rest of his career”. Which to Dodgers management, players, and fans is very concerning, especially when thinking about Kemp’s potential and how much he means to Dodgers baseball in the present and the future. Of course, time will tell whether or not his hamstring will cause him any lingering effects in terms of his long-term career, but for now it certainly is troubling for the team.
At the moment the most important thing at hand to the Los Angeles Dodgers is to get Matt Kemp back feeling healthy. In the meantime, the Dodgers may have to depend on 
other players to make up for Kemp’s on-field production. The worst thing right now is to rush him back and then lose him late in the season. The San Francisco Giants are sitting in second place in the NL West and may well take over first place while Kemp is out, but the Dodgers will feel better knowing that they could have Matt Kemp at full strength after the All-Star break and heading towards the end of the season when the MLB playoff races heat up.
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