Ryan Dempster will not refuse playing for Atlanta Braves, claim sources - MLB Update
Negating an earlier attitude that came to light of Ryan Dempster toward the Atlanta Braves, the sources close to the matter has claimed that the pitcher will not refuse playing for the club if a deal has been agreed with them.
The sources clarify that for the Chicago Cubs’ starter, the Braves hold as much appeal as the Los Angeles Dodgers, the club that earlier reports stated Dempster has preferred playing for.
The Braves have been looking for an experienced starter ever since the race for trading players before the July 31 trade deadline has started. The fact they are in contention for winning the play-off spot has made the team’s management to seek a quality
hurler.
In this way, they expect their chances for collapsing somewhere down the line can be minimised.
Furthermore, since offensively the Braves boast great players like Chipper Jones and Brian McCann, they do not want their chances ruined due to weak-links that can be addressed beforehand.
One of the major loop-holes with them is their weak rotation, which is without Brandon Beachy, their most successful starter this year before getting injured. Therefore, having Dempster on the rotation, the Braves can streamline in this regard.
Meanwhile, Frank Wren, Braves’ General Manager, had earlier stated that after they concluded negotiations with the Cubs, Dempster leaned more toward the Dodgers. Therefore, nothing could be agreed.
"In his case, from my understanding, and I'm only getting it secondhand from the Cubs, they had a meeting with him a couple of weeks ago and laid it out and that the primary two suitors were us and the Dodgers," Wren said. "He had positive things to say
about both, but he had a slight preference to the Dodgers because of Ted Lilly. He and Ted Lilly are best of friends, and he'd like to go play with his friend. I think there were also some personal issues that suited better for him."
However, with the latest news coming off, one can believe that Dempster’s attitude has now changed. He may accept the proposal now that his club had put forth before him about choosing the Braves for playing the rest of the season.
Within one or two days, an announcement can be expected in this regard. It will be interesting to see what pans out in the days to come.
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