The Orioles announced this morning that veteran infielder/outfielder Tony Kemp has been designated for assignment. His spot on the roster will go to the game’s No. 1 overall prospect, Jackson Holliday, whose previously reported promotion to the majors has now been officially announced by the team.
The veteran Kemp only signed with the O’s two weeks ago. He spent spring training with the Reds but was granted his release after he didn’t make the roster. He signed a big league deal with Baltimore on March 26 but went 0-for-10 with a walk and a strikeout in his limited time on Baltimore’s roster.
From 2020-22, the now-32-year-old Kemp was a solid contributor with the A’s. He split time between second base and left field, turning in a .252/.341/.361 slash (105 wRC+). Kemp lacks power but has superlative contact skills and keen plate discipline, evidenced by 12.5% strikeout rate and 10.5% walk rate during that three-year stretch (and by his career 10.1% walk rate and 13.3% strikeout rate).
The 2023 season was one of Kemp’s worst since debuting with the Astros back in 2016, however. He played 124 games with the A’s and picked up 419 plate appearances but mustered only a .209/.303/.304 slash (77 wRC+). Kemp struck out in a career-low 9.5% of his plate appearances and swiped a career-high 15 bases (in 19 attempts), but those silver linings don’t outweigh his broader-reaching struggles at the dish.
More to come.
