Ryan Dempster, CL, Chicago Cubs

June 13, 2007 @ 16:00:00

By Art Morath
Edited by Ryan Dodson

The professional baseball team that plays on Chicago's north side, aka the Cubbies, has never been short on drama. On Sunday, May 20, shortly after Chicago Cubs closer Ryan Dempster was done telling reporters he would be moving to the starting rotation, he was called to manager Lou Piniella's office and told he would be staying in the bullpen. He returned to his locker and told surprised reporters that he was still the Cubs' closer after all. Due to injuries in the bullpen, and the emergence of Sean Marshall as the Cubs' fifth starter, it seems like Dempster is going to be staying on as closer, for now. 

The 30-year-old Dempster is in his 10th big league season, and he has a career record of 58-71. His career ERA is 4.80 and his career WHIP is 1.54. He has started 162 games in his major league career with the Florida Marlins, Cincinnati Reds and Cubs. In 2004 the Cubs signed him as a free agent when he was coming off Tommy John surgery. When Dempster did finally play for the Cubs in August, he was inserted in the bullpen as a setup man. In 2005 the Cubs planned to use Dempster as their closer, but he began the season as a starter due to injuries to Mark Prior and Kerry Wood. He was 1-3 with a 5.35 ERA after making six starts. A month into the 2005 season former Cubs manager Dusty Baker decided to replace struggling LaTroy Hawkins with Dempster as the closer. Dempster performed well in the closer's role, converting 33 out of 35 save opportunities in 2005.

Table: Ryan Dempster, CL, Chicago Cubs - Statistics 2004-07

Year	W-L	Saves	ERA	WHIP	SO
2004	1-1	2	3.92	1.40	18
2005	5-3	33	3.13	1.43	89
2006	1-9	24	4.80	1.51	67
2007	1-3	13	3.82	1.14	27

After an up-and-down season last year, Dempster has pitched well this year despite limited save opportunities. His 3.82 ERA is not great, but he has a respectable WHIP of 1.14, which is much better than his career average. Dempster has converted 13 out of 15 save chances, but it appears there is still talk that he will be moved to the starting rotation somewhere down the road 

One supposed plan was that Dempster would be mentoring his replacement, Angel Guzman, until the 25-year-old Guzman was ready to take over the closing duties full-time. On June 1, in the infamous game when starter Carlos Zambrano got in a fight with catcher Michael Barrett, Guzman threw two scoreless innings in relief. A couple days afterwards after throwing on the side he woke up with a sore forearm. He was placed on the disabled list on June 6 with a strained right elbow, so that plan seems to be on hold until he comes back. Another supposed plan was that 24-year-old Carlos Marmol would be taking over the closing duties. Marmol was called up from Triple-A on May 18 and has pitched very well out of the bullpen. He has an ERA of 1.35 in 13.1 innings this season. Until Piniella actually makes a definitive change, it is safe to say that Dempster is the Cubs closer.

The Cubs should be able to stay in the race all year since they play in such a weak division. Also, since the team is up for sale, current management will want them to be competitive. However, if the Cubs are not able to stay in the race, there is a good chance Dempster gets traded. While Dempster may not have the pedigree of a top flight closer, he is certainly capable of closing games for a contender in need of bullpen help. In his career Dempster has blown 14 saves out of 86 opportunities for a save percentage of 84 percent. That is a better career save percentage than Cleveland Indians closer Joe Borowski, who is at 81 percent (98/121) and Detroit Tigers closer Todd Jones, who is at 80 percent (279/349). Many teams in the playoff race need bullpen help, so if the Cubs season goes in the tank, Dempster might want to have a bag packed.

From a fantasy perspective, Dempster looks to be safe for the next month. He is someone that fantasy owners generally undervalue, so you probably won't get a lot for him in a trade. If someone can come up with a fair deal, trade him away and don't take the chance he loses the job. However, we feel he's safe for a few weeks.

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Art Morath
Art Morath has been a contributor to KFFL since 2007.

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