Padres owner calls Kemp's letter to Braves fans 'bunch of b.s.'

As Matt Kemp offered up a parting shot on his way out of San Diego, Padres owner Ron Fowler fired one right back.

Kemp was traded to the Braves last Saturday and upon arrival, he told reporters that he was excited about playing in Atlanta as he'd never played in a baseball town before. He also penned an article in The Players' Tribune saying that he had developed a reputation in San Diego for being 'selfish, lazy, and a bad teammate' but promised Braves fans those days were over.

After reading Kemp's comments, Fowler said that one of the major motivations for trading Kemp was to get players with his type of attitude away from the organization.

"We made a conscious decision to ship them out because we want people that are prepared to improve," Fowler said at a season-ticket holders town hall meeting, according to Bryce Miller of the San Diego Union-Tribune. "If you're making a lot of money and you think you're already there, you're not going to get better.

"… They had a bad attitude. You saw Kemp's letter. Talk about a bunch of b.s."

Kemp wasn't the only high-paid player that general manager A.J. Preller has shipped out of town this season. James Shields was sent to the Chicago White Sox in June, and Melvin Upton Jr. was traded to the Toronto Blue Jays last month.

The Padres ended up eating a large chunk of both Shields and Upton's salaries, but did manage to save a bit by trading the pair, while also moving out players with perceived attitude issues.

"I'll be damned if we're going to pay high-priced talent to sit on their butts and not perform," Fowler said.