Dodgers make right move with Kemp

November, 14, 2011

11/14/11

5:20

PM ET

By Jim Bowden | ESPN.com

For the Los Angeles Dodgers, priority No. 1 this offseason -- besides finding a new owner -- was signing All-Star outfielder Matt Kemp to a contract extension. From the sound of it, the Dodgers can scratch that off their offseason to-do list and Dodgers fans can breathe a sigh of relief, as it appears Kemp has agreed to an eight-year extension that will pay him $160 million.

Kemp is a classic five-tool player who fell one home run shy of joining the 40-40 club this year. The 27-year-old has tremendous power to all fields and can hit all types of pitches on both sides of the plate. On the bases, first-base coach Davey Lopes helped Kemp improve significantly at spotting pitchers’ pickoff moves and with the general nuances of base stealing.

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ABOUT THIS BLOG

Jim Bowden

Bowden, who served as the senior vice president and GM for the Cincinnati Reds and the Washington Nationals, is an analyst for ESPN.com. In 1992, Bowden became the youngest GM in MLB history when the Reds hired him at age 31. The Reds finished in first place twice during his 10 years as GM, and he was named MLB Executive of the Year by Baseball America in 1999. After working for ESPN in 2004, Bowden became the first GM of the Washington Nationals when the franchise relocated from Montreal to Washington, D.C., in 2005, working in that role until the 2009 season. Bowden co-hosts the "Inside Pitch" radio show on Sirius XM satellite radio. Follow on Twitter: @JimBowdenESPNxm.