MLB Trade Rumors: Ryan Dempster Has At Least 10 Suitors
The belief is that the Cubs will trade Ryan Dempster soon – possibly before his next start. They want to
clear the way for a trade involving Matt Garza and having two pitchers available just muddies the waters. According to ESPN Chicago’s Bruce Levine, the Cubs will have no shortage of teams interested in Dempster when they finally decide to pull the trigger. He says 10 teams are interested or have shown interest.
"With a little more than two weeks until baseball’s trade deadline, 10 teams have shown legitimate interest in acquiring Dempster’s services for the rest of the season, according to industry sources. Those clubs include the Los Angeles Dodgers, Cleveland Indians, Detroit Tigers, New York Yankees, Chicago White Sox and Atlanta Braves."
Other teams not listed may include the Diamondbacks, the Angels, and the Red Sox. Yet, despite the large pool of teams with which to make a deal, Jed Hoyer and Theo Epstein have not made a decision. They are treading carefully here. Both know that the Cubs need to make near-perfect moves in order to rebuild the franchise as quickly as possible. A mis-fire on a trade simply won’t work and could set back the entire rebuilding process.
The Cubs are looking for young talent. It’s no secret Theo Epstein wants to build a club through the farm system. By trading Dempster (and eventually Garza) for top-level prospect talent, they will be able to restock the surprisingly thin Cubs farm system.
The other obstacle to consider is Dempster’s tenure with the Cubs. He has pitched for them for the last nine seasons and has been in the league for 15 seasons. That gives him 10-5 rights (ten years in the league, five with the same team), and it allows him to veto any trade if he wishes. According to Levine, Epstein and Dempster reached an agreement allowing Dempster to have final say on where he is traded so that they could avoid any vetoes.
Ryan Dempster is 5-3 with a 1.86 ERA this season in 14 starts. He has a 33 inning scoreless streak going. By far, he is having the best year of his career. He will be an asset for teams in the play-off hunt.
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