So: The Chicago Cubs have traded Ryan Dempster to the Atlanta Braves for top pitching prospect Randall Delgado, completing one of two deals that's been lurking in their starting rotation for weeks now and getting a really solid prospect out of the whole thing.

#Cubs mgr Sveum says no deal re: Dempster to #Braves. Called it "fabrication"

— Carrie Muskat (@CarrieMuskat) July 23, 2012

Okay, or they didn't do that.

THERE IS NO TRADE dont know where this info came from!

— Dempster Foundation (@RyanDempsterFDN) July 23, 2012

Yeah, yeah, I get it! Or they didn't make the oddly specific trade, reported earlier this afternoon, to one of the teams Dempster was reportedly interested in being traded to for the best return they're likely to get for their 35-year-old ace.

Whether they did or didn't, it looks like the St. Louis Cardinals are probably out, and if Randall Delgado--a top-50 prospect in baseball, already major-league-ready--was the kind of return Theo Epstein and company were looking for, it's definitely good that John Mozeliak bowed out. Dempster's a fine starter, but I'm not sure the Cardinals should spend that kind of prospect on this kind of rental.

Of course, assuming the Braves actually have.