Padres News: Matt Kemp to Have Wrist Evaluated After 100th RBI

The good news is that Matt Kemp did reach the goal of 100 RBI for the season, the most for a Padres outfielder since 1998 and most since Chase Headley did the trick in 2012. It was the first time Matt Kemp had reached the plateau since 2011 when he finished second in the MVP voting.

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The bad news is that Kemp was forced to exit the game the following inning due to a nagging wrist injury and will be evaluated today. As reported by Corey Brock, the injury has been bugging him for awhile and with the 100 RBI level safely reached, he would rather rest at least a bit than risk further injury: “The other day I was swinging and it started irritating me a little bit and it carried over into the off-day and into today. We’ll get it looked at tomorrow and see what’s going on” said Kemp.

The Padres ended up losing the game 4-3 and Kemp was replaced in the game by Melvin Upton Jr. Kemp’s health has been a pleasant surprise this season for the Padres, particularly after the mandatory trade physical last December revealed severe arthritis in both shoulders that nearly nixed the deal to begin with. Entering the game he was 11th in innings played in the National League with 1,277 and tied for 7th in games started with 148. Considering that baseball is continuing to go younger and younger while Matt Kemp keeps getting older, those are numbers to be proud of.

Kemp wanted to stay in the game but decided it was best to sit out the remainder of the game, stating, “Every time I swing, it got irritated, a sharp little pain. I wanted to keep going, but thought it would be better for me to sit this one out.”

This time of season the last thing the Padres want is one of their star players risk further injury in any way. The Brewers likewise have shut down Ryan Braun who is dealing with back issues and will prepare for early off-season surgery so that he is ready for the start of 2016. It does not appear at this point that Kemp will require anything more than just some rest.

Unfortunately with the Padres, their period of rest starts this season when the final game is played Sunday and not after what was hoped to be a long playoff run into October.

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