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Ryan Dempster

Dempster Deferred Salary To Give Cubs Flexibility

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8:50pm: Bruce Levine of ESPNChicago reports that Dempster's salary deferral actually came this past offseason, allowing the Cubs to sign Xavier Nady. Rosenthal confirms the report, via Twitter. A bit of a disappointment for Cubs fans who were hoping the team would be able to to use those savings to make a trade this summer.

4:05pm: Ryan Dempster will defer $3MM of his $12.5MM salary this year at little or no interest to give the Cubs the flexibility to make moves, according to Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports (Twitter links). Dempster will receive $1MM of the deferred money by February 2011, $1MM by February 2012 and the final $1MM by February 2013. The rest of his contract is unchanged, so Dempster will still make $13.5MM in 2011 and retain his $14MM player option for 2012.

The 33-year-old Canadian has a 3.31 ERA with 8.3 K/9 and 2.8 BB/9 this season. The Cubs need Aramis Ramirez and Derrek Lee to start hitting like they usually do, but they will now be better-prepared to address smaller needs when they emerge. Scott Rolen restructured his deal in the winter, and he got an extension out of it. The best Dempster can hope for is an improved chance at postseason play.

Heyman, Rosenthal On Cubs, Rays, Giants

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SI's Jon Heyman and FOX Sports' Ken Rosenthal posted new columns this morning.  A few hot stove highlights…

  • Heyman received indications that Tom Gorzelanny will remain in the Cubs' rotation when Ted Lilly returns Saturday.  That would mean Carlos Zambrano, Ryan Dempster, Randy Wells, or Carlos Silva heads to the bullpen.  Given his past experience in the Cubs' pen, Heyman finds Dempster the most logical choice.  I respectfully disagree, as Dempster is the Cubs' best starter.  I'd make Silva the long man and continue to scour the trade and free agent markets for relief help.  Promoting Andrew Cashner merits consideration, if the Cubs don't think a temporary move back to relief would stunt his development.  UPDATE: Paul Sullivan of the Chicago Tribune tweets that Zambrano will go to the pen. 
  • Rosenthal finds a Rays sell-off unlikely, instead envisioning them as bullpen buyers.  He notes that the Rays have attempted to trade for various star players the last two Julys.
  • Rosenthal believes the Giants' biggest need is "a strong two-way threat in right field."  He says potentially available players like David DeJesus and Corey Hart don't quite fit the mold.  I'm just throwing it out there…could Elijah Dukes be a fit? 

Cubs To Make Run At Sheets

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TUESDAY, 11:50am: MLB.com's Carrie Muskat tweets that Cubs officials say Sheets' current asking price does not fit their budget.  Sheets' agent Casey Close could stand to do a better job controlling the information on his client, because the reports of a $10-12MM demand make him look bad.  Muskat says the Cubs are still looking for right-handed relief.

MONDAY, 8:58pm: As Ken Rosenthal guessed last week, the Chicago Cubs are set to make a run at free agent pitcher Ben Sheets, the Chicago Tribune's Paul Sullivan reports.

According to Sullivan, Cubs GM Jim Hendry contacted Sheets' agent during the Winter Meetings. Sheets is reportedly asking for two years and a guaranteed $10-12MM per year, though the Cubs believe "they have a good shot at landing him with an incentive-laden deal."  MetsBlog's Matthew Cerrone believes Sheets is aiming for a second-year player option.

Sullivan sees Sheets slotting in nicely in front of Carlos Zambrano, Ryan Dempster and Ted Lilly in the Chicago rotation, with Randy Wells and newly-acquired Carlos Silva also serving as starting options.  With Lilly coming off of arthroscopic shoulder surgery, and little recent success from Silva, it is hard to imagine the Cubs want to roll the dice with Sheets. However, they did acquire Rich Harden in July 2008, so high-risk, high-reward pitchers may just be how the Cubs roll.

Tim Dierkes contributed to this post.

Cubs Unlikely To Land Halladay

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Although the Cubs would "love" to pull off a deal for Blue Jays ace Roy Halladay, they are unlikely to do so as they lack the necessary room in payroll, according to Ken Rosenthal and Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports.

The Cubbies have a combined $42.375MM committed to pitchers Carlos Zambrano, Ted Lilly, and Ryan Dempster.  They would have a hard time finding a taker for Alfonso Soriano as he is owed $18MM per year for the next five years.  Same goes for Kosuke Fukudome, who is due to make $26.5MM over the next two seasons.  Aramis Ramirez is a hefty contract that could be moved, but as Rosenthal and Morosi point out, he's probably too valuable for the Cubs to trade.  

Derrek Lee will make $13MM in the final year of his contract and could be a match for the Braves, however Atlanta would likely need to find a taker for a big contract (i.e. Derek Lowe) first.

Therefore, it appears that GM Jim Hendry's winter plans will center around finding a new home for Milton Bradley and acquiring a new center fielder.  Interestingly, the post floats the possibility of a three-way deal involving Bradley to net Mets second baseman Luis Castillo.

It seems as though Hendry has quite a few obstacles in his way if he hopes to swing a deal for Doc.  Would you be willing to make all of the moves necessary to create the space needed for such a trade?  What would it take for the Cubs to pry Halladay from the Blue Jays? Let's hear your thoughts in the comments section.

Cubs Not Looking To Retain Rich Harden?

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The Chicago Tribune's Paul Sullivan writes that the Cubs have no plans to bring back Rich Harden, as alluded to by manager Lou Piniella.  Prior to losing the final road game of the season to the San Francisco, Piniella ran down the 2010 rotation.

"You look at our starting pitching here for next year," Piniella said. "You've got (Carlos) Zambrano, you've got (Ryan) Dempster, you've got (Randy) Wells, you've got (Ted) Lilly, you've got (Tom) Gorzelanny, and you've got (Jeff) Samardzija…And if this kid keeps improving, he'll be right in the mix. So we've got six nice arms."

Gordon Wittenmyer of the Chicago Sun-Times reported that Piniella characterized the starting five as being "pretty settled."  Wittenmyer feels that Gorzelanny has a leg up on Samardzija and Sean Marshall for the fifth slot. 

Zambrano, despite his personal frustration, could once again be an elite pitcher.  The 28-year-old ace is discouraged by his depressed win total, but still managed to post a 3.69 ERA with 8.0 K/9 – a marked improvement over his 6.2 K/9 in 2008.  Lilly has had what you could call a career year at the age of 33, recording all-time bests with a 3.02 ERA and 4.21 K/BB ratio.  Dempster's HR, BB and SO rates are in the neighborhood of where they were last year, when he garnered national attention.  Wells put up a strong 3.18 ERA on the way to becoming the first Cubs rookie to notch 10 wins since Kerry Wood.

Are the Cubs in good enough shape to let Harden sign elsewhere without having to sift through the lackluster available starting pitchers?  Let's hear your thoughts in the comments section.

Brown on Sabathia, Teixeira, Lowe, Peavy

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In his latest article, Tim Brown at Yahoo! Sports considers a possibility that others have discussed: maybe C.C. Sabathia doesn’t want to play for the New York Yankees. He certainly has options–Brown’s list includes the Dodgers, Angels, White Sox, Red Sox, Mariners, Tigers, and of course, the Brewers.

Not signing C.C. would increase the likelihood that the Yankees make a serious offer to Mark Teixeira. Nick Swisher seems to have the starting job at first base for now, but failing to land Sabathia might shift the Yankees’ attention to all three of Teixeira, A.J. Burnett and Derek Lowe, says Brown.

Lowe might take his time before signing a new deal this offseason, with the news that Scott Boras is looking for the same average annual value obtained previously by Barry Zito ($18MM).

Finally, Brown notes that Padres GM Kevin Towers is waiting to hear from the Cubs about the possibility of continued trade talks regarding Jake Peavy, now that Ryan Dempster has been signed.

Dempster Signing Reactions

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Yesterday the Cubs signed free agent pitcher Ryan Dempster to a four-year, $52 million deal (the last year is a player option).  Dempster also talked to the Blue Jays, Braves, Dodgers, Yankees, and Mets.  Reactions to the deal:

  • Newsday’s Ken Davidoff says it "doesn’t seem like a great investment in a 31-year-old without a proven history as a starting pitcher."
  • Umpbump’s Paul Moro says "Although he’s on the wrong side of 30, I think that this will be one of the saner deals this offseason."
  • Bleed Cubbie Blue says, "Good clubhouse guys aren’t easy to find, and when you have one like Dempster who gets it, in addition to being dedicated to his craft and staying in shape so he can continue to perform at the high level he did in 2008, you keep him."
  • Sabernomics says, "Are teams really thinking this guy is a legitimate front-of-the-rotation starter worth $13 million a season for the next four years? … 2008 screams ’fluke!’"
  • ESPN’s Rob Neyer (whose blog is now free) says, "Dempster gave up only 14 home runs in 2008. I don’t believe that number is sustainable."
  • Dave Cameron likes the deal for the Cubs, noting that the contract assumes Dempster regresses.
  • Ken Rosenthal notes that the Cubs had extra appeal to Dempster because he has 10-and-5 rights with them.
  • Dempster has a backloaded contract, but my math says the Cubs will now be above $130MM after arbitration raises.  Payroll is expected to rise at least slightly from the $130MM level, but the Cubs don’t have much room in the budget for that lefthanded bat right now.

Tim Dierkes also contributed to this post.

Cubs Re-Sign Dempster

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3:45pm: ESPN is reporting details of the contract. Dempster gets a $4 million signing bonus, $8MM in 2009, $12.5MM in 2010, $13.5MM in 2011, and a $14MM player option for 2012.  He can make additional money based on awards.  Looks like the Cubs backloaded the deal to leave payroll room.

11:51am: Gordon Wittenmyer of the Chicago Sun-Times also says there’s a four-year, $52MM agreement and Dempster will sign the deal today.  I consider this an acceptable price.  There’s a health risk, but Dempster already had Tommy John surgery.  He can probably maintain an ERA below 4.00.

11:47am: Dan Graziano of the Newark Star-Ledger has a source saying the Cubs and Dempster have agreed on a four-year, $52MM deal.

11:24am: SI.com’s Jon Heyman says the Cubs are "making progress" on a deal with Dempster.

10:50am: Rosenthal says the deal would be worth "slightly more than $50 million."

9:53am: According to Ken Rosenthal, the Cubs are close to re-signing Ryan Dempster to a four-year contract.  Depending on their ownership situation, the Cubs may still pursue Jake Peavy or Randy Johnson.  They could also be in the mix for Rafael Furcal.

Yankees Rumors: Abreu, Burnett, Teixeira

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George King of the New York Post and Kat O’Brien of Newsday have the latest on the Yankees, who are in hot pursuit of free agent starting pitching.

  • The Yankees will offer arbitration to Bobby Abreu, according to Jon Heyman.  No surprise there.
  • King says the Yankees are preparing an offer for A.J. Burnett, "perhaps a five-year deal worth about $80 million."  Burnett’s agent says they’re just discussing parameters.  It would be a strong offer, dwarfing the Blue Jays’ four years, $54MM.  ESPN’s Buster Olney believes a fifth guaranteed year will ultimately result in the winning bid for Burnett.
  • The Yankees may make an offer to Derek Lowe soon; they’ve reached out to Scott Boras regarding him.  Other Lowe suitors: the Dodgers, Red Sox, Mets, and Rangers.  O’Brien adds that the Yanks expressed interest in Mark Teixeira to Boras (despite the Nick Swisher acquisition).  The Orioles are also in on in Tex.
  • King talked to a "baseball exec" who sees the Cubs re-signing Ryan Dempster at four years, $52MM.
  • Andy Pettitte’s agent doesn’t want a pay cut from this year’s $16MM.
  • The expectation is still for Mike Mussina to retire; we may know this week.
  • The Yankees aren’t in on Jake Peavy, as evidenced by Kevin Towers’ comments last night.  Rick Sutcliffe and Mark Grace have been pitching the Cubs to Peavy, though the hangup seems more about which players the Chicago would send to San Diego.
  • The Yanks have an offer of about six years, $140MM on the table for C.C. Sabathia, and he’s mulling it over (somewhere).

Rosenthal’s Latest: Griffey, Peavy, Dempster

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A look at the latest column from FOX Sports’ Ken Rosenthal:

  • Rosenthal wonders if Jason Varitek’s viral sickness and divorce last year contributed to his poor performance at the plate.
  • Ken Griffey Jr.’s wife gave him her blessing to play anywhere he’d like.  If he’s focused on getting a ring, Seattle might not make sense.  Griffey’s doctor believes his knee will be in better shape in 2009.
  • Padres GM Kevin Towers wonders if Jake Peavy would’ve accepted a trade to the Braves, given Atlanta’s club policy against no-trade clauses.  Towers isn’t talking to the Braves, Dodgers, or Yankees about Peavy, and Rosenthal says he’s "not making much headway" with the Cubs.  ESPN’s Peter Gammons says the Cubs’ loss of Jose Ceda lessens their chances, while Frank Wren still believes Peavy will end up a Brave.
  • The Cubs hope to resolve the Ryan Dempster situation this week.  The team wants to do a four-year deal.
  • The Giants are still in on Juan Cruz after their Jeremy Affeldt signing.
  • The Phillies gave Pat Burrell "parameters" for a new deal, while Rosenthal speculates on the Giants and Dodgers as other possible fits.
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