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The last 48 hours have been tenuous for Atlanta Braves baseball fans to say the least.  Word broke yesterday that the Braves and Chicago Cubs agreed to a deal that would send ace Ryan Dempster to Atlanta for Randall Delgado.

Fans of both franchises were ecstatic with the move.  For the Braves, Dempster provided stability to a rotation that has been plagued by a season-ending injury to Brandon Beachy and uneven performances by Tommy Hanson, Randall Delgado, and Mike Minor.  The Cubs gained a young pitcher in Delgado who could develop without the added pressure of a pennant race in the back of his mind.

As the day wore on, reports began filtering out that Dempster was not aware of any impending trade and then early today MLBTradeRumors.com reported that Dempster was on the fence about signing any deal because he wanted the Cubs to re-open trade talks with his first choice, the Los Angeles Dodgers.

As a player with 10 years of MLB experience, including five with his current team, Ryan Dempster has the right to veto any trade this season per the Collective Bargaining Agreement.  This article will list five reasons why the Braves are better off without Ryan Dempster.

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Ryan Dempster is a wanted man, and it’s no wonder considering his sparkling 2.14 ERA and the Chicago Cubs overall futility. But the Washington Nationals should be aggressive in their attempts to obtain Dempster, if they are serious about winning this year.

The Cubs are sellers, and when it comes to Dempster there seems to be a healthy amount of buyers.

According to Jon Heyman of CBS Sports, the Nationals are one of them. He writes: “The Ryan Dempster Derby currently is a battle between the Braves, Nationals and Cardinals, people familiar with the talks suggest.”

Dempster obviously has the stuff to help any pitching rotation, but his experience could be a real asset to the Nats in a pennant race.

Washington has only two pitchers (Mike Gonzalez 34 and Tom Gorzelanny 30) who are 30 years old or older. Dempster is a 35-year-old, 14-year veteran, who has pitched in two postseasons. That experience would be valuable to a relatively young staff.

Per Heyman, the Cubs are seeking young arms in compensation for trading Dempster. That could be an issue for the Nats.

Will they be willing to part with a prospect like Ivan Pineyro to nab Dempster?

Pineyro is a 20-year-old standout hurler in rookie ball in the Nats’ system. He could be a future star, and a the type of pitcher the Cubs want in return for Dempster. This potential scenario begs the question: how do the Nationals view themselves?

Are they a team of the future that just happened to contend, or a team of now looking to maximize on every opportunity to win?

Many people didn’t picture the Nats contending so soon, this season may even be a surprise to them.

If they still see themselves as a team of the future, they may not want to part with a valuable young prospect for a short-term solution like Dempster.

How the Nats pursue Dempster will tell us who they think they are.

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If the St. Louis Cardinals are considering dealing the organization’s top-pitching prospect, Shelby Miller, there are a handful of potentially available pitchers they could go after.

While there is no guarantee they would be willing to part ways with him, his performance in 2012 has at least shown that he is not untouchable.

His last start was a major improvement, but he has not easily made the transition to Triple-A baseball.

Miller is 4-8 on the season with a 5.79 ERA with the Memphis Redbirds. In 82.1 innings pitched through 18 starts, the 21-year-old RHP has surrendered 17 home runs and 46 walks.

On the positive side, he also has 94 strikeouts. He still has some nasty pitches, but has not responded well to the improved hitting of the Pacific Coast League. Opposing batters are hitting .280 off of him to date.

Don’t let his record fool you. Miller still has what it takes to develop into a top-tier major league pitcher.

While his trade value might not be what it would have been last year, many clubs still know what he is capable of when he gets back on track.

If the Cardinals did decide to move him, what kind of impact players could they get?

In the case of most top-tier starting pitchers, Miller alone won’t make a deal. Following are a list of pitchers that might make the Cardinals more likely to move Miller.

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Stephen Strasburg’s innings limit has been one of the hotter topics in baseball, and it’s clear that the Washington Nationals will have a tough decision to make.

However, it seems like the Nationals are already preparing to move on without Strasburg.

According to MLB.com, Washington has interest in Ryan Dempster and Rockies catcher Ramon Hernandez. The Nationals have John Lannan in the minors, but they would definitely benefit from trading for Dempster.

The consistent ace is 5-3 with a league-leading 1.86 ERA this year. A lot of teams will be pursuing Dempster, since Chicago is looking to stockpile prospects for future success. Washington has a great farm system, so they could definitely make a trade.

If the Nationals did trade for Dempster, they would probably have Strasburg, Dempster, Gio Gonzalez, Jordan Zimmerman and Edwin Jackson in their rotation. After Strasburg leaves, Ross Detwiler would join the rotation.

Washington would have to give up a lot, but it would definitely be worth it. Dempster is a great pitcher who could really help the Nationals. Even if the Nationals decided to keep Strasburg in the rotation, Dempster would still help the team and just make the best pitching staff in baseball even better.

The team’s four best pitchers would wreak havoc on the league and greatly enhance Washington’s chances of winning a championship. Just imagine a playoff rotation of Dempster, Gonzalez, Strasburg and Zimmerman (if Strasburg pitches). All have ERA’s under 3, and all have a WHIP under 1.12.

If the Nationals didn’t trade for Dempster, they would probably call up John Lannan to pitch in September. Lannan has had a nice career in Washington, but he is 6-8 with a 4.60 ERA with Triple-A Syracuse. Dempster is definitely better than Lannan, and he would definitely help the Nationals a lot.

Washington is known for having a young, well-rounded team. They have the lowest team ERA in baseball, even though two inconsistent pitchers, Edwin Jackson and Ross Detwiler, reside in their rotation. Just imagine how much better the rotation would be with Dempster, even if Strasburg gets shut down or skipped.

Dempster would welcome a trade to just about any contender, and, according to Ken Rosenthal of FOXSports.com, he would likely be happy with a trade to Washington. Dempster is in the last year of his contract, but Washington could re-sign him and have he, Strasburg, Zimmerman and Gonzalez dominate hitters for a couple more years.

It will take a lot, but the Nationals would definitely benefit from trading a few prospects for Dempster. Washington would undoubtedly have the best rotation in baseball during the month of August, and they would still have a great rotation without Strasburg in September. If the Nats re-signed Dempster, they’d have the best rotation for a few more years.

And it’s always good to have the best rotation. The Nationals may have the best rotation right now, but in September, their pitching will take a major hit. If Strasburg is shut down and Dempster isn’t brought in to Washington, imagine how Jackson and Detwiler would pitch in the playoffs.

I’m sure Nationals fans don’t want to imagine that. So that’s why the Nats need to bring in Dempster. 

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The Washington Nationals have been and will be an interesting team to watch.

After years of building up young talent and sending them into the farm system, Washington’s young dream team has finally been assembled. Players like Ian Desmond, Ryan Zimmerman, Jordan Zimmerman, Stephen Strasburg and Bryce Harper were all drafted by Washington, and they are all making a splash.

And it wasn’t just the draft. Washington signed Jayson Werth in the 2010 offseason and traded for Gio Gonzalez in the 2011 offseason.

Now, the Nationals lead the NL East by 2.5 games, and they’re ready to fight to the finish in a tight NL East race that everyone will be talking about.

Here are the Nationals’ four biggest second-half storylines.

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It’s a seller’s market this trade season in MLB, and one of the top attractions among starting pitchers—in fact, likely THE top attraction—is the Cubs‘ Ryan Dempster.

Here’s why.

For one thing, Dempster may end up being the best pitcher on the market, with extensions for the Phillies‘ Cole Hamels and the Brewers‘ Zack Greinke reportedly coming. And even if those extensions don’t get done, there is no guarantee that either will be offered up for sale.

But Dempster is certainly available, as the Cubs try and build for the future. As good as he is pitching right now, Theo Epstein and Jed Hoyer have little use for a pitcher who is a free agent after the season and will be 36 next season.

Meanwhile, his recent performances have certainly increased his value to other teams. Saturday’s  performance has improved his scoreless streak to 33 innings, tied for the best ever by a Cubs pitcher.

Dempster, who allowed four hits in six innings, matched the Cubs mark set by Ken Holtzman in 1969. 

Another reason why Dempster may end up being the top starter on the market is that, with the additional Wild Card spots, more teams are expected to be buyers than ever. But the Cubs, despite their recent run of solid play, have no chance of winning anything this year, so they are sellers.

Therefore, the combination of fewer starting pitchers being available, Dempster’s historic performance and their being fewer sellers this year have resulted in at least 10 teams being interested in Dempster, according to a post on MLBTradeRumors.com.   

The report claims that the Cubs are willing to eat part of Dempster’s remaining salary (approximately $7 million) in order to obtain better prospects in a trade.

With the Tigers reportedly among the teams interested in Dempster, I wonder if they would be willing to part with hard-hitting third baseman Nick Castellanos in a trade. Although that is unlikely for a rental, it just depends on how desperate they are to try and win their division.  .

Interestingly, the White Sox are also among the teams listed in the report.

The bottom line is that the Cubs, who have not had much luck, may have picked a good time to rebuild. Players like Dempster, Matt Garza and even Alfonso Soriano should generate a lot of interest.

And that will go a long way toward expediting the rebuilding process.

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Could Ryan Dempster actually be the best player traded prior to the 2012 MLB Trade Deadline? According to David Schoenfield of ESPN.com, that may be the case. 

Not only does Schoenfield think that Dempster could be the best player dealt, but he also believes that teams should start pursuing Dempster now, as opposed to waiting until it is closer to the deadline.

Schoenfield has come up with seven different contenders he believes could be interested in acquiring Dempster this year. Additionally, Schoenfield provides possible trade scenarios.

This article will take a look at the potential contenders Schoenfield mentioned, as well as a few other teams that could be interested in him, and it also provides each team’s odds of acquiring him. 

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One year ago on Opening Day, a Cubs’ pitcher Ryan Dempster gave up six runs off six hits with four walks, earning a loss against the Pirates.

Today, like last year, Ryan Dempster opened the season for the Cubs with a loss. However, Dempster’s performance today was near perfect against the Nationals.

Facing the strikeout superstar Stephen Strasburg, Dempster struck out 10 batters allowing two hits in seven and two-thirds innings. He actually recorded twice the amount of strikeouts that Strasburg recorded (yet Sportscenter seems not to have noticed).

Dempster pitched a solid seven innings, and almost finished the eighth, before he was pulled in favor of Kerry Wood, a decision manager Dale Svevum likely would redo.

Officially, Ryan Dempster was charged with one run in the game. This appears to be his slight gaffe of the game.

In the eight inning, Ian Dresmond recorded a hit off of Dempster. Dempster would eventually get pulled and Dresmond would eventually score. However Dempster was pulled because of pitch count and Dresmond scored because Kerry Wood walked the next three consecutive batters, sending Dresmond home.

Wood walked Dresmond from first to home without recording an out, making the run hardly the fault of Dempster. But as stats go, Dempster was charged with the run. However he did not record a loss.

Let’s look at the pitching battle between Stephen Strasburg and Ryan Dempster.

Both pitched seven full innings and recorded one run. Dempster allowed three fewer hits, and Strasburg walked two fewer batters. The real difference comes in strike outs and Dempster proved dominant.

Pitching inside strikes and taking control with his cutter, fastball, splitter and slider, Ryan Dempster struck out twice as many batters (10 total) than Strasburg.

Even though the “W” flag isn’t flying over Wrigley Field, Ryan Dempster should be proud of his performance today. With more pitching like that and hopefully more offense, Chicago is bound for wins and lots of them.

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The Chicago Cubs’ Opening Day starter will be Ryan Dempster, while Matt Garza will be the second man in the team’s rotation.

Wait—what?

It appears that manager Dale Sveum may have a screw loose in his head, because this rotation call just seems foolish.

There is no doubt in anyone’s mind that Garza is the top pitcher on the Cubs staff, and Dempster is perhaps only here because of his contract, which left him with the option of staying or going. 

Last season, Dempster went 10-14 while boasting an ERA of 4.80. Yeah, that is really some ace-quality pitching, don’t you think?

Garza, on the other hand, went 10-10 in his first season on the North Side, while having an ERA of 3.32 and 197 strikeouts—both career bests.

It is just bewildering, and it doesn’t make much sense. Perhaps if the Cubs were starting on the road and were setting up Garza for Opening Day at Wrigley Field, that would be understandable.

It isn’t though, and that is what will have fans wondering when April 5 rolls around.

This is the second year in a row that Dempster has been given the nod, and it is just bewildering that this is who the team is going with, especially since they will be taking on the Washington Nationals with Stephen Strasburg on the mound.

In last year’s Opening Day start, Dempster looked like the fifth man in the rotation—perhaps even a guy who had thrown his last pitch.

The team was playing the Pittsburgh Pirates, and Dempster failed to slow them down, as he gave up six runs on six hits in just 6.2 innings. Two of those were home runs, and it was becoming quite clear that Dempster didn’t exactly have his stuff anymore.

Well, he will have to prove all of the Cubbie faithful wrong this Opening Day, as many will continue to be scratching their heads until they see exactly what Sveum is seeing.

Jeff Chase is a Featured Columnist for the Chicago Cubs and Arizona State football.
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Ryan Dempster was a roller coaster ride last year. Check out his ERA by month:

April: 2.75
May: 4.54
June: 3.24
July: 5.03
August: 2.89
September/October: 4.59

This year Dempster started off in the outhouse with a 9.58 ERA in April. He then went 3-1 with a 3.08 ERA in May and 1-2 with a 3.13 ERA in June. I wouldn’t quite call that the penthouse, but he has his numbers at least looking respectable at 5-6 with a 4.99 ERA and 1.41 WHIP.

Since his back-to-back seven run disasters Dempster is 4-3 with a 3.11 ERA and 1.22 WHIP. He’s not going to fool anyone for Justin Verlander of Cliff Lee, but at least he’s looking like the pitcher that we’ve come to know over the past couple of seasons. We knew he wasn’t as good as the 17-6, 2.96 season he posted in 2008, but he combined to go 26-21 with a 3.75 ERA and 380 strikeouts in 415.1 innings in 2009 and 2010.

Dempster has turned his season around, but I would be cautious using him on the road. He was blasted for six runs in five innings as recently as June 3. With a 6.86 ERA away from Wrigley I would only use him when the matchup is favorable. For instance, he faces the Nationals on the road on the Fourth of July. With Americana in the air I would roll the dice on that road start. It’s early enough in the week that you can make some adjustments if it doesn’t go your way.

While I don’t think it will be entirely smooth sailing for Dempster the rest of the way, I do feel he will be a solid option for the most part.

Also check out:

Michael Cuddyer:  The Glue Guy
Fantasy Baseball Youth Movement: This Year or Not?
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Fantasy Baseball Free Agent Pool – 2011 Speed Demons Vol. 6
Can Scott Rolen Keep Rolling?

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