The Chicago Cubs are definitely shopping veteran pitcher Ryan Dempster as the July 31 non-waiver trade deadline approaches, and it appears the St. Louis Cardinals are getting in on the talks. Dan Moore of SB Nation St. Louis laid out why Dempster and St. Louis would be a good fit on Wednesday, and then on Thursday Bruce Levine of ESPNChicago.com reported that a major league source informed him the Cardinals "have jumped into the picture in recent days" with the Dempster trade talks.
Here is a bit more from what Dan Moore had to say about a potential deal for Ryan Dempster:
Dempster, in the last year, of a somehow-appropriate four year, $52 million deal, is not going to be a bargain with these numbers, but compared to Cole Hamels and Zack Greinke he represents a more classic one-year-rental, and will be priced appropriately. If the Cardinals traded some B prospects for him (Zack Cox and a starter who's neither Shelby Miller nor Carlos Martinez nor Tyrell Jenkins?) had everything fall their way, a guy like Dempster could bump Joe Kelly into the bullpen for a season, strengthening both spots, without figuring into their 2013 plans.
Theo Epstein recently divulged that the Cubs are looking to add pitching prospects to the system, so the Cardinals could be the perfect match.
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