Cubs re-sign Ryan Dempster to four-year deal

Chicago, IL (Sports Network) - The Chicago Cubs have re-signed right- hander Ryan Dempster to a four year deal. Although financial terms were not revealed, the contract is believed to be worth $52 million.

Dempster returned to the rotation on a regular basis for the first time since 2003 this past season for the Cubs and enjoyed a career year, going 17-6 with a 2.96 earned run average in 33 starts, while helping Chicago to its second straight NL Central title.

He had been the Cubs' closer the previous three seasons.

Dempster began last season 10-0 at Wrigley Field, becoming the first Cubs pitcher to do so since Rick Reuschel in 1977. He ended the campaign 14-3 on the North Side, the most victories by a pitcher at Wrigley Field since Fergie Jenkins won a franchise-record 15 games in 1967 and the most by any major league pitcher at home since Atlantas Russ Ortiz won 14 games at Turner Field in 2003.

The 31-year-old hurler re-joins a rotation that already includes righties Carlos Zambrano and Rich Harden, as well as lefty Ted Lilly. Chicago has also been in talks with San Diego about acquiring former NL Cy Young Award winner Jake Peavy.
Dempster broke into the majors with the Florida Marlins in 1998 and has also pitched for the Cincinnati Reds. He is 76-81 lifetime with 87 saves and a 4.55 ERA in 420 games (195 starts).

TheSportsNetwork

Stupid idiotic move..the guy had a career year, they should have thought about signing and trading him, will NEVER repeat those numbers again

Brock Landers said:

Stupid idiotic move..the guy had a career year, they should have thought about signing and trading him, will NEVER repeat those numbers again

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I don't see why he won't still be good. It's not like he relies on a blazing fastball that's going to go away. He may not put up a sub-3 ERA again, but he has a good work ethic and should continue to be a good #2 or #3 type starter. I don't think you're going to find much better on the FA market this year or next at 4/52. If you think so, name some names.

I think Burnett is going to get considerably more money and I'm not sure he's reliably worth it.

D2bets said:

I don't see why he won't still be good. It's not like he relies on a blazing fastball that's going to go away. He may not put up a sub-3 ERA again, but he has a good work ethic and should continue to be a good #2 or #3 type starter. I don't think you're going to find much better on the FA market this year or next at 4/52. If you think so, name some names.

I think Burnett is going to get considerably more money and I'm not sure he's reliably worth it.

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Burnett is bad money waiting to be spent.

FairWarning said:

Burnett is bad money waiting to be spent.

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I think so too. Good fit for the Yankees. I read they wanna give him 5 and 80. Wow.

No wonder why teams are after Peavy so bad. I think he has like 5 years left and 60 on his deal. Something like that. Pretty good bargain for one of the best pitchers in the game. When you figure Sabathia is going to cash close to double that.

D2bets said:

I think so too. Good fit for the Yankees. I read they wanna give him 5 and 80. Wow.

No wonder why teams are after Peavy so bad. I think he has like 5 years left and 60 on his deal. Something like that. Pretty good bargain for one of the best pitchers in the game. When you figure Sabathia is going to cash close to double that.

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Peavy will get his and deservedly so....drop me an e-mail D2bets...

Career year should definitely signed him during the season then traded him for someone that can play centerfield and hit left handed. Hey you guys remember Kent Bottenfield? No, I'm not saying Edmonds is the guy now but damn that was a brilliant trade.

Nice! I was worried they would lose Dempster.
Now they have Dempster, Zambrano, and Harden locked up. Harden is awesome!
I doubt anybody has a better trio.

You can have them.

quinnsft34 said:

You can have them.

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You can have the Cardinals. They aren't going anywhere next year.

nimue77 said:

You can have the Cardinals. They aren't going anywhere next year.

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I wouldn't be so sure...
That aside, something all cubs fans should be able to relate to, right?

Chicago Cubs: Ryan Dempster, Cubs Need You to Decline Your $14 Million Option
By
Jeff Chase
(Analyst) on October 28, 2011


Bob Levey/Getty Images

The Chicago Cubs are going to owe starting pitcher Ryan Dempster $14 million if he picks up his player option for the 2012 season. In all honesty, why wouldn't he? At 34 years old, Dempster knows that he isn't likely going to get good money anywhere else, especially when other guys on the market are players like C.J. Wilson, CC Sabathia, Mark Buehrle, Roy Oswalt and Edwin Jackson.
This $14 million is going to be a tough situation for new president Theo Epstein and general manager Jed Hoyer to get around.
Ever since Dempster officially became a starter for the Cubs in 2008, his ERA has gone up every season. He ended the '08 season with a record of 17-6 and a 2.98 ERA. Dempster certainly looked like he was going to be a great pitcher, but fast-forward to the present and we can tell that 2008 was his peak.
This season, Dempster went 10-14 with a 4.80 ERA. Honestly, Dempster shouldn't even be considered a guy who makes over $5 million a season. This was Dempster's first losing season in Chicago, but it is was a surprise that he was going to drop off this much.
Dempster was somewhat successful in the Cubs' bullpen, but ultimately he found himself being the starter. In four seasons, Dempster has been a consistent innings eater. Not once has he dipped below 200 innings on a season, while he has also been remarkably healthy.

He has also been pretty high in strikeouts, sticking around the area of 200 over all four seasons. Dempster wasn't terrible in the reliever role that he initially played when he came to Chicago, but those days are far behind him.
Dempster is being paid too much to be sent into the bullpen, but he is also being paid too much to not produce at a high level. The issue is there really isn't much the Cubs can do. Perhaps if they look to trade him and eat up some money, it could be a win-win situation.


If they can't move him, the Cubs may have to stick with him. What they will have to hope is that a revival in what will be known as the "Cubs Way" will rejuvenate the aging pitcher into what the Cubs were hoping for.

At this point in time, the Cubs have no solid ace. It looks to be Matt Garza, or perhaps a guy like C.J. Wilson if they pick him up in free agency. It would be tough for Epstein to shell out this money, though, knowing that he is already going to be wasting $14 million on Dempster with many other holes to fill. In the end, he may have to look for cheaper options.

The Cubs could do a lot with that $14 million.

The other thing that could possibly happen is Dempster will restructure his contract. Dempster is a fan favorite, and he certainly really likes Chicago. Most wouldn't complain with having Dempster fall to the No. 4 or 5 spot in the rotation, but his salary impact per season is going to have to come at a much lower number than $14 million.

His overall contract will obviously have to trump this amount of money, but his 2012 footprint can be greatly reduced. This isn't a possibility Dempster has eliminated, as he would like to possibly explore a multi-year contract.

In the end, it really is Dempster's decision. If he accepts his option, the Cubs will likely have to just deal with it, as they swallow up the last few years of Jim Hendry's mess. I don't think many Cub fans would want to see Dempster go, just like they didn't with Kerry Wood. Maybe Dempster will find the passion like Wood did for the Cubs, and will take less money to stick around, but also be able to continue to enjoy his time on the North Side.

fairwarning said:

good move. .

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dong

nimue77 said:

Nice! I was worried they would lose Dempster.
Now they have Dempster, Zambrano, and Harden locked up. Harden is awesome!
I doubt anybody has a better trio.

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hno:

lol nice bump 5tp

friend of mine used to live in chicago, told me about this time dempster was hanging out in some bar, he was real tight with the dude who owned the bar, dempster was completely wasted and butt ass naked just hanging out (figuratively and literally). guess he thought he would just take his clothes off. kinda weird.

Dempster might not be worth that kind of money now, but he has done EVERYTHING the Cubs have asked of him and more.....when they needed a closer, he went to pen and did the job....once they had a closer they just moved him back to rotation and he wins 17 games.....and although his wins have slipped he still goes out there every 5 days and gives you a shot to win......

He's not a 14 million pitcher, but hopefully they can restructure and keep him, cuz he's the kind of guy you like to have on your team, not a prima donna.......

would like to see cubs go 70-90, hate that team.

Weird article.

Why would Dempster even contemplate not taking the player option?

Would the writer or anyone else turn it down?

It might as well be guaranteed.

jwblue said:

Weird article.

Why would Dempster even contemplate not taking the player option?

Would the writer or anyone else turn it down?

It might as well be guaranteed.

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Yeah, he should do what's best for himself, period. He could have probably gotten a multi-year deal somewhere, but not near $14 mil per. Maybe he is just betting on himself having a good season. Taking his option was really a no brainer.