Some More on the Trade Front

• The Cubs will reportedly not comment on any trades tonight and will wait until tomorrow morning.  Obviously as we find more out we let you know.
• After the injury to Matt Garza it appeared it was going to be a long shot to move him, but it seems there are a few teams who are still interested.  The Cubs let teams look at his medical reports and some teams might be satisfied.
• The teams that have shown interest in Garza are the Texas Rangers, Toronto Blue Jays, and the Cincinnati Reds and according to some sources there is good chance he gets moved.
• Nothing new on Dempster yet, but with Maholm going to the Braves, I am guessing he won’t end up there, but you never know.
• Who will come up after the deals are completed, I am guessing Welington Castillo will be up in Soto’s place and there have been rumors that Brett Jakcson, who was taken out of the Iowa could be on his way or it could be someone like Dave Sappelt.

We will keep you updated throughout the night and tomorrow.

– Mark

 

Countdown to the Deadline: Dempster Updates; You’ll Get Mad

I really tried to make it through a whole day without talking about Ryan Dempster but it’s impossible at this point, especially when more information keeps coming out.  The information that is coming out is positive to start with but by the time you get to the last update you feel like you got punched in the gut and spit on, the spitting wasn’t really necessary.

Jayson Stark reported today that the Cubs and Dodgers remain optimistic that they can reach a deal involving Dempster.  I can live with that news, part of me just wants this done so everyone can move on.  However, Cubs fans need to be prepared that the return is not going to be what is was earlier this week.

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Executive Joel Sherman is reporting that the Cubs might want to “kick in an extra $1 million bucks” for Dempster to go to Atlanta.  It’s come to this?  I’m okay with it if Major League baseball is because that just sounds odd, but it’s on the internet so I believe it.

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David Kaplan reported that a Cubs/Dodgers deal is getting “close” – then shared a few details about the Braves deal that fell through, for now.  Brett at Bleacher Nation had a really solid write-up, here are his thoughts.

Here’s a more complete take from Kaplan, which goes into a bit of the backstory on the Braves’ deal. The gist is, the Cubs thought they had an understanding with Dempster that they could negotiating with either the Braves or Dodgers, and then they got a better offer from the Braves. When Dempster through up a roadblock (albeit possibly temporary), asking the Cubs to try once more with the Dodgers, the Braves pulled their offer so they could explore other options. Theo was apparently furious. And that’s where we stand, as the Cubs try to get an acceptable deal from the Dodgers. The Cubs, Kap says, are trying to net a “handful” of pitching prospects, which suggests they will generally be of a lesser tier than Delgado.

Gut punch number one right there.  Again it’s a report that is second-hand, but it falls in line with everything that we have heard prior, that Dempster would allow a deal to the Braves, yet when it’s put your money where your mouth is time Dempster gets “blindsided” all of a sudden.

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Kaplan also chimed in with this nugget, this is the first I’ve heard that a multi-team deal might be in the works.

Team Theo and Co. are looking at a number of scenarios, with sources telling me this afternoon that a multi-team trade that would send Ryan Dempster to his preferred destination, the Los Angeles Dodgers while netting the Cubs a handful of prospects built around starting pitching is getting closer to happening.

The Cubs are exhausting all options to get a deal done for a guy that said less than a month a go that he loved that he had options and he would do everything he could to help himself and the Cubs organization moving forward.  I wonder if he said that while doing his Haray Caray impression, such a funny guy.  But this latest joke is absolutely hilarious.

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Finally Jon Heyman adds to the dream crushing.  The Cubs offered Ryan Dempster to the Dodgers for fringe top 100 prospect Allen Webster, a downgrade from Randall Delgado but a serviceable prospect for Dempster.  The Dodgers said no, flat-out.  Starting to sound like Dempster has alienated the Cubs, the Braves, and now the Dodgers might actually prefer Garza over Dempster, what is Dempster to do now?  If I had to guess I think some sort of deal gets done tomorrow, the only reason I say that is I think someone is going to cave, Dempster or Theo and Jed.  It’s horrible that it has come to this when just under a month ago it seemed like Dempster would do everything in his power to accept a deal.  I understand the rules of baseball so I’ll save you the reply of “he’s earned the right.”  Yes I know, but I really don’t care at this point, the act is wearing thin, and the more I see of this circus the more I think Dempster is just that, an act.

Thanks for reading,
– George

This is Why Cubs Fans Are Upset With Dempster

Everyone understands that Ryan Dempster is a 10 and 5 guy.  If you don’t know what that means, here’s a definition for you.

Players who have been with a club for 5 consecutive years and have been a major league player for 10 years cannot be traded without their consent. 

Dempster has every right to deny any trade for any reason, good or bad.

Ryan Dempster’s comments from earlier in the year…

Waddle and Silvy interview

“I think I would be doing everybody in that locker room and anybody who is a Cubs fan and most importantly the Cubs organization a huge disservice if I didn’t put all my focus and attention on trying to make my start and do the best I can to help us win,” Dempster said Wednesday on The Waddle & Silvy Show. “By doing that you’re ultimately helping the team. You’re in a situation where if it does happen they are going to do what’s best for the Chicago Cubs, and I’m all for that.”

Paul Sullivan interview

“Any one of us is susceptible to being traded. For me, it’s a little different because I have the right to say ‘no.’ … Obviously I want to do what’s best for this organization. They’ve done nothing but right by me.”

If you need a smoking gun, that’s it folks.  Dempster is on record saying that he would accept any reasonable deal to a contender that would benefit him and the Cubs.  Of course he can change his mind, but the Theo and Jed would not have agreed to a deal with the Braves if they thought Dempster would turn it down in my opinion, stay tuned.

Thanks for reading,
– George

Countdown to the Deadline: Dempster Madness Recap

For a second there yesterday, well more like thirty minutes or so, we all thought that Ryan Dempster was traded to the Braves, not so fast!  After some backtracking on numerous fronts, a cryptic I don’t know what’s going on tweet from the Dempster foundation, and Dale Sveum blaming the internets, Ryan Dempster threw a bullpen session as a member of the Cubs.  Still not sure what happened yesterday, here’s a brief recap.

At roughly 1:22 PM CST news broke that Dempster was indeed traded to Atlanta.  MLB.com’s Mark Bowman broke the story, Bowman is the beat writer for the Braves on MLB.com, the Carrie Muskat of the Braves if you will.  There was no report of who was coming back to the Cubs from the Braves, so I was cautiously optimistic.  The fact that a MLB.com reporter broke this story made me feel like it was done.

After a number of other outlets took the story and ran with it, ESPN, and MLB Network to name a few, Keith Law offered the second part of the deal.  Around 1:51 PM CST Keith Law confirms that Randall Delgado was included in the deal from the Braves side of things.  Cue mass excitement and shock from Cubs fans, and baseball insiders on twitter.  Joe Sheehan was shocked that the Cubs were able to grab Delgado for Dempster.  Kevin Goldstein suggested that Cubs fans should absolutely be thrilled with this deal.  Not going to lie, after hearing this news I was ready to publish a Randall Delgado post about how awesome it was that the Cubs were able to get a 22-year-old arm from the Braves.

As the excitement was building a truly “Cub moment” slapped me and the rest of Cubdom across the face around 2:38 PM CST.  Ryan Dempster’s foundation posted on their twitter account that there is no trade, they haven’t heard a thing.  Welp.  David Kaplan of CSN Chicago followed with “No trade”, wait, what just happened?  Multiple major outlets were reporting this deal as done, now we are hearing there is nothing in place?  This could only happen in a “trade” involving a Cubs player.

As we stumbled into the three o’ clock hour we got further confirmation that Ryan Dempster is still a Cub.  How do we know this?  Because he’s standing right there in the clubhouse in a Cubs uniform!  What is going on??  Cubs beat reporter Paul Sullivan dashed our hopes and dreams first, then he was followed by noted dream killer Doug Padilla.  Doug really isn’t a dream killer, I’m just calling him that for effect, Sullivan on the other hand, ehh.

With the visions of Randall Delgado wearing Cubbie Blue still fresh in our minds, Bob Nightengale of USA Today reported that the deal is now up to Dempster.  Wait, there is hope?  You mean a deal really is in place and it’s only up to Dempster, who has made it widely known that the Braves are his number two team and given the fact he wants the best return for the Cubs there is no way this could go wrong!  Unfortunately that was really the last we heard of this deal being down to Dempster, the Atlanta Journal Constitution chimed in later in the evening backing up Nightengale’s statement, but all other outlets that originally reported a done deal are now tight-lipped for obvious reasons.

If you want a more detailed account of everything that happened I suggest you head over to Bleacher Nation where Brett as a stomach turning detailed account of it all, including 28 updates, it’s worth a read for sure.  My take on this is that there is a deal in place, or something close to a deal in place.  I think Dempster just has to say yes and that Major League Baseball has to approve the deal because there is a significant amount of money involved in it.  That’s just a guess, but if it really is down to Dempster saying yes, what happens if he doesn’t?  How would you feel about that considering Dempster has said all along that he want’s what is best for the Cubs, and that he would like to return next year.  Is he getting cold feet, or is he just excorsizing the rights that he has earned in the big leagues?  Let us know what you think, I will have updates as they come out today, I’m sure there will be plenty.

Thanks for reading,
– George

Rough First Dooms Dempster

To almost everyone’s surprise, Ryan Dempster started tonight in St. Louis against the Cardinals.  Surprising in that Dempster was rumored to be pulled from his start by a number of baseball insiders because of a trade that was imminent.  Well, the trade hasn’t happened yet, and Dempster wasn’t pulled from his start, so just a normal day I guess.  I wouldn’t be surprised if Dempster’s head was elsewhere at the start of the game with everything that is going on, I’m sure he won’t admit it, but it’s hard not to notice.  Dempster’s scoreless innings streak ended almost immediately as the Cardinals scored three times in the first inning after Dempster recorded an out, ending his streak at 33.1 scoreless innings.  Dempster settled down however only allowing one more run over the next five innings.  He finished the night after six innings giving up four runs on seven hits while walking two and striking out two, his ERA shoots all the way up to 2.11 on the season.  The Cubs offense couldn’t get anything going against Cardinals starter Kyle Lohse, only recording seven hits and one run in the loss.  David DeJesus had a good night at the plate going 2-for-4, and the only Cubs run came via a Darwin Barney sacrifice fly.  Full box score and highlights after the jump.

Countdown to the Deadline: Nationals Enter Dempster Derby

Lot’s of news to sift through today on the rumor front, so here goes..

The Nationals are the latest team to get involved with the Cubs and Ryan Dempster.  The thought here is that the Nationals want a veteran arm to help them down the stretch given the innings limit for Strasburg.  Assuming they adhere to that 160 inning limit they will have a hole in their rotation and instead of plugging a system guy into the rotation they want a legit top of the rotation guy, hence Dempster.  Ken Rosenthal wrote about the Nationals interest in Dempster earlier today.

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There is a reason that most of the rumors I report are about Ryan Dempster, Joel Sherman thinks it’s because Dempster is the first domino of the trade season.  For that reason, among others, the Cubs do not want to delay the trading of Ryan Dempster and would like to deal the right hander “this week” according to a MLB executive.

Ken Rosenthal speaks to that rumor about the Cubs wanting to move Dempster immediately as he says that the Cubs have started exchanging names with other teams.  He lists the “finalists” as the Dodgers, Tigers, Braves, Red Sox, and the Nationals.

***

The Cubs other big trade arm, Matt Garza is also being asked about quite often.  Danny Knobler is reporting that the Kansas City Royals have asked about Garza as they want to add a big FA arm for the 2013 season.  Because Garza has one more year of control after this year he would fit the criteria of being that big arm for the 2013 Royals rotation.  The best news yet for the Royals is they wouldn’t have to convince Garza to sign as a FA, they just need to acquire him in a deal, not exactly an easy task but might be easier than obtaining a big arm on an open market.

***

There have been a few reports that the Tampa Bay Rays are willing to move James Shields, and the Marlins might be interested in moving Josh Johnson.  The reason this is news to the Cubs is that it could add arms to the trade market, thus lowering the value of a Matt Garza.  I haven’t seen anything concrete about Shields or Johnson but there are whispers about them being available.

Thanks for reading,
– George

Countdown to the Deadline: Red Sox Closing in on Dempster?

Buster Olney is reporting that the Red Sox have become ultra aggressive in their attempts to acquire Ryan Dempster.  Where there is smoke there is usually fire, and many people in the know are expecting Dempster to be dealt any day now, so we might have some breaking news very soon, stay tuned.

Thanks for reading,
– George

Countdown to the Deadline: Dempster Deal Coming Shortly

I mentioned it in the game recap yesterday, but all signs are pointing to Ryan Dempster being traded before his next start.  Buster Olney offered up a guess on Twitter today when asked if Ryan Dempster would make his next start in a Cubs uniform, his guess?  No.  Now Dempster might be traded in the next couple of days, but remember, Dempster has to agree to any deal that the Cubs agree to.  So technically, Dempster could allow this to go on for as long as HE wants to, I don’t think he would do that to the Cubs or to the team that acquires him.  Olney also mentioned that the Cubs are trying to deal Dempster as soon as possible so that they do not influence the trade market of fellow starter Matt Garza.

So where will Dempster go?  It’s anyone’s guess right now as it seems the number of teams increases with each start Dempster makes.  Bruce Levine is reporting that up to ten teams are in hot pursuit of Dempster, some more so than others obviously.  Levine suggests that some of the teams are as follows, in no particular order, Los Angeles Dodgers, Cleveland Indians, Detroit Tigers, New York Yankees, Chicago White Sox and Atlanta Braves.

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Another name that is starting to gain a head of steam in the trade chatter is Alfonso Soriano.  Jon Heyman of CBS Sports has suggested that Soriano would be a fit for the offensively challenged Tampa Bay Rays.  That is of course if the Cubs pickup $44 of the $46 million remaining on Soriano’s deal as one rival scout was quoted as saying.

Jed Hoyer understands that a number of Cubs players are going to be dealt, but he also understands that the fans want a quality product, “That’s where you sort of have to have that long view to make those moves,” Hoyer said. “But that’s why being in that position isn’t one you want to be in very often. You feel like, yes, you can make improvements for the long-term but there is a reason there are teams calling, because there are good players. I think that is never a good feeling.”

Thanks for reading,
– George

Wrigley Farewell? If So, Dempster Goes Out On Top

Maybe Ryan Dempster doesn’t want to leave?  Pitching in front of a packed house at Wrigley Field for maybe the last time, Dempster shut down the Diamondbacks en route to a 4-1 victory.  For the fifth start in a row Dempster did not allow a run and earned the victory, according to Elias, Dempster is only the 5th pitcher in the last 100 years to accomplish that feat.  Dempster also tied Kenny Holtzman’s club record for scoreless innings in a season with 33 straight, Holtzman tossed 33 scoreless innings in a row during the 1969 season.  Dempster was on a pitch count again this afternoon so he was lifted after six innings, he allowed no runs on four hits while walking three and striking out five.  The bottom of the Cubs order did most of the damage today as both Luis Valbuena and Geovany Soto had two hits, Valbuena added an RBI.  Reed Johnson had a solid day at the top of the order going 2-for-4 with his 8th double of the season.  Carlos Marmol came on to get the save and made it as difficult as you could imagine.  Marmol put the first two guys on in the ninth before getting a game saving catch from Reed Johnson as he crashed into the bricks in right.  Anthony Rizzo started a slick 3-6-1 double play to end the game giving the Cubs a series victory.   Don’t look now, but the Cubs are playing baseball worthy of a contender as they have won 11 of their last 15 games, an impressive run, sure it is probably too late but this is must watch TV.  Full box score and highlights after the jump.

Countdown to the Deadline: Dodgers Back on Dempster

Just before Ryan Dempster was placed on the DL there were very strong rumors suggesting that he was about to be traded to the Los Angeles Dodgers.  Well, those rumors seem to be resurfacing.  As Jon Heyman suggests the Dodgers might want to make a huge splash and get both Dempster and Garza from the Cubs.  Now, given the fact that the Cubs want to get as much as possible back for both guys I would really doubt that they would agree to send both pitchers to the same team but as always it depends on the return.

From Heyman’s article

“The Dodgers have long been known to be targeting Dempster and are seen as a favorite for him. But it turns out they’ve had conversations about Garza, as well.

Either one would make a nice addition to the Dodgers, who’ve managed to hang onto first place despite a long absence by superstar Matt Kemp and several other injuries (Kemp is due back Friday, and Andre Ethier is expected back if not Friday, then a day or two after that). Ted Lilly, who is injured for the Dodgers, is close to Dempster from his Cubs days and would presumably recommend him highly.”

Heyman Continues

“The Dodgers have the money to take a decent-sized contract, but the Cubs prefer to get talent back from their top chips. Young pitcher Zach Lee is considered the Dodgers’ top prospect.”

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Of course, the Dodgers are not just going to be allowed to swoop in and have Dempster all to themselves.  Per Bruce Levine of ESPN, there are expected to be upwards of 10 scouts attending Dempsters Saturday start in Arizona.

“The Ryan Dempster trading market will see a huge surge on Saturday as upwards of 10 teams will have scouts on hand to watch the Chicago Cubs’ veteran right-hander pitch against the Arizona Diamondbacks. “

Some of the best players in their game also voiced their opinion of potentially landing Dempster at the deadline, this is the perfect storm for the Cubs, the more I see the more I think they could make a killing in a deal for both Dempster and Garza.

“When you see all the top teams in baseball, they are always deep in quality pitching,” the Dodgers’ Matt Kemp said. “If it is possible to add a pitcher like Ryan Dempster of course you would do it. He has been pitching great and he is healthy again, not to mention he has the best ERA in baseball. He would be a great addition.” 

Future Hall of Fame third baseman Chipper Jones is a big Dempster fan. 

“Ryan is one of the most respected guys in baseball,” Jones said. “He goes out there every five days trying to stick it to you. Any team would be lucky to get him. We could use some help trying to catch the Nationals, so getting someone like Demp would certainly bolster our chances.

Thanks for reading,
– George