1/13 14:30: According to Ken Gurnick of MLB.com, contract talks between Matt Kemp and the Dodgers are progressing.  The focus is on a two-year deal.  Kemp’s agent, Dave Stewart, says that “the uncertainty of ownership” is the reason the deal will be short.

1/1 15:02: According to MLB.com, the Los Angeles Dodgers have opened discussions on a muti-year deal with outfielder Matt Kemp.  However Kemp’s agent, Dave Stewart, said that the player would like to go year-to-year on a contract.

Stewart says, “We’ve got to figure out if it even makes sense to do a multiyear. The club is looking for something, the player is looking for something. Sometimes it’s difficult to find a meeting of the minds. In that case, we’re fine doing it one year at a time.”

Traditionally, the Dodgers do not lock up their young players in multiyear deals, preferring to have the player prove his value each season until he reaches the free-agency criteria of six years service time.  This salary strategy may be a double-edged sword since you cannot predict a player’s performance.  In one case a team will risk guaranteed money for multiple years hoping to get a bargain with a player who exceeds expectations.  In return a player gets the security of a long-term paycheck that may spare them from underperformance or injury.

Kemp is eligible for arbitration this offseason, and with his 26 home runs and 101 RBI’s in 2009 he should receive a decent raise from the $467,000 he made.  You can see Kemp’s contract history and statistics here.