Cubs Sign Dempster to 3-Year, $15.5M Deal
Submitted by cubsnet on Sat, 2005-10-01 13:17.
A few days ago, I wrote, "If Jim Hendry has shown anything as a general manager, it is that he will not overpay for you unless you are a middle reliever or your name is Jose Macias." I should not have limited myself to middle relievers. Today, the Cubs signed closer Ryan Dempster to a 3-year extension that will pay him $15.5 million, reports the AP.
A few days ago, I wrote, "If Jim Hendry has shown anything as a general manager, it is that he will not overpay for you unless you are a middle reliever or your name is Jose Macias." I should not have limited myself to middle relievers. Today, the Cubs signed closer Ryan Dempster to a 3-year extension that will pay him $15.5 million, reports the AP.
Dempster has a 3.13 ERA in 92 innings this year, including 6 starts. As a reliever, he has a 1.85 ERA in 58.1 innings. For his career, Dempster has a 4.83 ERA, mostly as a starter. As the Cubs' best reliever this year, Dempster is still just 42nd in the majors in Baseball Prospectus's Adjusted Runs Prevented.
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Dempster
I'm on record as being skeptical of Dempster's continued success, but this is an appalling deal by any standard I can think of. It's not even the money that overly concerns me, it's the three years. What exactly is it in Dempster's past that would make anyone think he can be consistent over a three-year period? It's nice to think that a move to the bullpen will solve all those issues he's had in the past, but isn't that the kind of thing that you'd want a player to show you, at least for one more year, before you just assume it to be true?
Not only has Dempster yet to
Not only has Dempster yet to show that he can sustain this type of performance over more than one year, relievers in general don't show consistency over 3-4 year periods.
Would Dempster have not accepted a 2 year deal?
Reaction Elsewhere
Rob Glowacki, Joe Aiello, and Al Yellon all like the deal. Derek Smart isn't sure what to think.