With the trade deadline approaching, the Dodgers appear to have made the first move to improve their starting pitching. Reports have surfaced that they have reached out to the Cubs to acquire Ryan Dempster. With Cole Hamels quite possibly extending with the Phillies, Dempster is arguably the top dog on the pitching market.
A couple of factors are unknown about this deal. First, we don't even know which players the Dodgers have offered. We do know that the Cubs value young pitching in return for any deal, which is understandable considering they are in the full rebuilding mode.
The second question, and most important one, is if the Dodgers are willing to include Zach Lee in the deal. You have to think that if that answer is yes, the Cubs would pull the trigger on this in an instant.
To start with, let's take a look at Dempster. To say that he is putting it all together this year would be an understatement. And guess what? He currently has a scoreless inning steak of 33. Talk about perfect timing! On the year, he's 5-3 with a minuscule 1.86 ERA and 1.02 WHIP. Teams are hitting only .204 against him. Simply put, he's one of the very few bright spots in another dark season for the Cubs. It's not hard to see why teams value him so highly.
For those of you unacquainted with Lee, he was the first pick by the Dodgers in the 2010 draft. After last season, he already was rated the top-ranked prospect in the farm system, and #62 overall by Baseball America. Not bad for a guy who was pitching in high school two years ago.
Lee started this season at High-A Rancho Cucamonga, where he went 4-3 with a 4.55 ERA in 12 starts. He's since made four starts in Double-A Chattanooga, and he's 0-2 with a 8.82 ERA. Not exactly the greatest numbers, but that doesn't change the fact that he's still a highly sought after young prospect that a team like the Cubs would covet.
The Dodgers have already let it be known that they are willing to take on high salaries if it will improve their club. Dempster in the final year of his four-year deal, making $14 million this season. It's not like we can expect him to pitch to an ERA of sub-2 the whole season, but he's still a huge improvement over Chad Billingsley. A rotation of Clayton Kershaw, Chris Capuano, and Dempster would be great to start a playoff series with.
However, I'm not at all a fan of moving Lee in this deal. Some people may look at Lee's numbers this year and wonder what the big deal is, but you have to understand that's he's still only 20, and already has been lauded for his control. In other words, the guy appears to know how to pitch, and not just try to blow everyone away. That's a guy you want in your system.
As much as I'd like to see Dempster replace Billingsley in the rotation, I think the Dodgers need a power bat even more. I'll give you two reasons why: Juan Uribe and James Loney. Enough said. If the Cubs insist on Lee as part of the deal, then I would move on from it. Give Matt Kemp and Andre Ethier somebody else who can consistently drive in runs to help protect them. That's their biggest need.
No comments:
Post a Comment