Ryan Dempster holding up trade to Braves … because he can
Reports on Monday said that Ryan Dempster was going to be traded to the Braves, but as Dempster wrote on his Twitter account, that was incorrect. The deal, which would have sent Dempster to Atlanta for Randall Delgado, is on hold because Dempster has the power to block it.
Dempster is a “10/5” player, which means he’s been in the majors for 10 years and has spent the last five seasons with the same club. That automatically gives a player the right to veto a trade, and Dempster has done that.
The Cubs are completely out of the playoff race (they have the third-worst record in MLB), but Dempster has the lowest ERA in baseball and therefore is a valuable trade commodity. Chicago is looking to deal him so they can get some pieces in return, but he’s exercising his player rights before approving anything.
Ken Rosenthal says Dempster prefers a trade to the Dodgers, which are battling the Giants for first place in the NL West. The problem is the Dodgers may be reluctant to give up players to get Dempster for two months.
Dempster reportedly is expected to take about a week to decide what he wants to do. My guess is he eventually ends up with the Braves. He may not have wanted to go to them immediately, but I bet he’ll change his mind once he’s had a little more time to think about it.
