This was posted earlier. Updates will be added for the next few hours (scroll down).
According to Jon Heyman, Ryan Dempster has been traded to the Dodgers. More to come if it's confirmed.
Dodgers getting Dempster…..final dotting of i's and crossing of t's being worked on……
— JIM BOWDEN (@JimBowdenESPNxm) July 31, 2012
Still no word on whether it's official or who may be coming to the Cubs, but I'm sure Dempster will be traded to the Dodgers at some point today.
UPDATE 1: CBS Sports is reporting that the Cubs are still shopping Matt Garza.
UPDATE 2: On twitter there are rumors that this could be a larger deal and some are suggesting James Russell could be included.
If Dempster to Dodgers is multi-player package, James Russell might be another guy on the move.
— Kevin Goldstein (@Kevin_Goldstein) July 31, 2012
UPDATE 3: George Offman confirms the deal is close and includes more than just Dempster.
UPDATE 4: Phil Rogers reportedly said on MLB Network that the Cubs really want Allen Webster.
UPDATE 5: Phil Rogers, who is normally full of shit, suggests that not only Dempster and Russell, but Shawn Camp, Jeff Baker and maybe even prospects could be included)
UPDATE 6: Kevin Goldstein tweets that the Cubs really want Webster and are trying to add to the package to get him.
My understanding is that the Cubs really want Webster and are trying to add to Dempster in order to get him. Deal not done yet.
— Kevin Goldstein (@Kevin_Goldstein) July 31, 2012
UPDATE 7: Jayson Stark said that it looked like Garza would be traded today. Nick Cafardo agrees.
UPDATE 8: Buster Olney says the Diamondbacks are working hard to acquire an ace and that a Justin Upton and Matt Garza trade makes some sense. Holy shit.
Diamondbacks working hard on something big, and a Garza/Upton framework makes sense for both Cubs and Diamondbacks.
— Buster Olney (@Buster_ESPN) July 31, 2012
Justin Upton does have the Cubs on his no-trade list so there's that issue to work out.
Justin Upton has Cubs on his no-trade list, so that would have to be worked out.
— Buster Olney (@Buster_ESPN) July 31, 2012
UPDATE 9: Yankees are talking to the Cubs, but no financials have been discussed and the Cubs would have to send money.
UPDATE: 10: Dodgers are looking at other pitchers than Dempster.
UPDATE 11: Bruce Levine tweets that Dempster told him he'd accept a trade to the Yankees and Rangers along with the Dodgers.
Dempster told me he has expanded his list to Yanks and Texas as well as Dodgers.
— Bruce Levine (@ESPNBruceLevine) July 31, 2012
Cubs are reportedly talking with one other team besides the Dodgers.
UPDATE 12: Who flinches first? Dodgers or Cubs? I'm going with Cubs.
UPDATE 13: Muskat says that Casey Coleman maybe in the clubhouse warming up in case Dempster is traded. He might be. He might not be. It could go either way.
UPDATE 14: Alfonso Soriano is desperate to get out of Chicago. Here's what MLBTR has on him today:
Alfonso Soriano has provided the Cubs with a list of teams to which he would accept a trade, Bob Nightengale of USA Today reports (on Twitter). The Giants aren’t on it. Soriano was interested in waiving his no-trade clause to join the Dodgers, Ken Davidoff of the New York Post reports (on Twitter). However, the Shane Victorinotrade likely reduces Los Angeles' interest in Soriano.
Now you know.
UPDATE 15: There's just a little over 1 hour until the deadline. We might hear about a completed deal after the deadline, but we should know everything within 90 minutes.
UPDATE 16: One of my favorite blogs, RLYW, briefly talks about Dempster and he doesn't see any need for the Yankees to acquire him.
I don’t see Dempster filling a need, but it doesn’t hurt the Yankees to pretend they’re involved if only to make the price for Texas a bit steeper. Anyway, I think Dempster is a non-issue but we can use this entry for general trade deadline discussion.
SG is a pretty smart guy and I imagine a lot of Yankees fans feel this way.
UPDATE 17: Nothing new, which really isn't an update, but what the hell?
UPDATE 18: Kaplan says the Cubs have several balls in the air.
Ok, told that Cubs have several balls in air. Soriano, Dempster, Garza, and handful of other possibles on big league roster and in minors.
— David Kaplan (@thekapman) July 31, 2012
UPDATE 19: Cubs and Tigers are trying to work out a deal for Soriano, but it's unlikely to happen today. A trade is August is possible.
UPDATE 20: It appears the Dodgers are out on Dempster, which would leave only the Yankees.
UPDATE 21: Soriano is staying put for at least this week.
UPDATE 22: Heyman says the Yankees may have acquired Dempster. They may not have too.
UPDATE 23: Heyman says that Buster Olney says that the Rangers acquired Dempster.
I wonder which team is heavy into the Garza sweepstakes at this point.
Shame that Ryno’s gone. It looks like the Cubs are finally having a legitimate fire sale.
my sources confirm the frustration, as well as the irony.
love coming back and finding myself four threads behind.
@ Rice Cube:
“empty my vag”?
Justin Upton for Garza? Olney has started a shitstorm on Twitter.
@ Aisle424:
my sources tell me that the hope monster has hacked buster olney’s account
@ GW:
(dying laughing) Agreed, but holy fucking shit if it’s true.
@ mb21:
I almost had a heart attack when I saw Upton and the Cubs on my phone in at a stoplight a few minutes ago, especially given what I said in the podcast last week (dying laughing)
@ Berselius:
I think GW is right. The Hope Monster is more powerful than we expected and we should blame Josh for creating something that is now hacking people’s twitter accounts.
Bowden claiming that Upton deal is not happening
@ Rodrigo Ramirez:
Dreaming irrationally is fun while it lasts. (dying laughing)
My hope was at an all time level for that one.
More from Bowden:
Cubs source just told me that a Dempster deal to Dodgers NOT done and that Dempster opened up to other teams & they are working hard w 1 now
JIM BOWDEN@JimBowdenESPNxm
Serious game of chicken between the Dodgers& Cubs on Dempster right now…Cubs believed to have found another team..LA blinks or loses him
@ Rodrigo Ramirez:
The “Blink” episode of Doctor Who was really awesome.
/nerd tangent
@ mb21:
I’m just doing my part.
Rodrigo Ramirez wrote:
Guessing that some wires were crossed, Cubs were really after Kate Upton
#mysteryteam
http://deadspin.com/5930258/nbc-interviewed-a-random-tourist-about-the-queen-and-didnt-realize-he-was-evander-holyfield
(dying laughing)
Patrick Corbin (dbacks prospect) scratched from his start today.
Would Justin Upton even make sense for the Cubs?
@ josh:
yes
@ josh:
Very much yes. 24, signed through 2015, already know that he can succeed at big league level. I’d be happy if the Cubs flipped real prospects for him.
@ GW:
I mean, it looks like he’s due for a bounceback, but I don’t know. I’d like to watch him play, for sure.
josh wrote:
What is he? 24? Stick him in a lineup with Rizzo and Castro who are both 22 and you have a hell of a core for a long time as long as you can afford to pay them. And the Cubs can afford to pay them.
Especially when you consider that most of the bats that we’re excited about in the minors will be coming up, they can pay the core, have cheap talent from the system bulking up the lineup and still have money to fill in a hole or two with some free agents. the offense could be exciting relatively soon.
The pitching is still the biggest concern. That is nowhere close to being impressive.
@ josh:
It might interfere with the Cubs’ plans to not contend until 2014.
Should I refresh here or MLBTR? I’m not really using twitter these days.
@ Aisle424:
That’s my fear, is that we give up all our pitching and have a Brewers type setup.
I guess UCF (my alma mater) is in a state of “Lack of institutional control”. Ban to postseason play in football and basketball for a year for recruiting issues. Shouldn’t be a big issue though because UCF isn’t likely to make the postseason (dying laughing)
@ Edwin:
I guess I’d feel better about if our pitching wasn’t so atrocious, though maybe the other aquisitions change that game.
kap’s vindication? or are the cubs just getting their message out?
But WaLi, UCF went to the AltaVista Bowl, or somesuch last year no? Or was it the year before? That’s a huge spirit booster!
@ WaLi:
So based on penalties, covering up for rape is 5x as bad as paying kids to play sports.
josh wrote:
We’re not giving up any pitching. The guys we are trading are not a part of the future even if the Cubs didn’t trade them.
This is Hope Monster paradise. It the Cubs get Upton, HM fattens up on hopes that the Cubs would contend sooner than 2014 (next year–woo hoo!!!). If not, he fattens up on the hopes we’d have gotten him.
The damn Hope Monster has painted us into a corner from which there is no escape.
GW wrote:
I’m telling you, Kap’s info has been remarkably better under Theo than ever before. he’s not 100%, but he’s getting some good stuff and he’s usually getting it first.
@ josh:
brewers pitching is in better shape than generally believed, i think. gallardo is still not the world-beater that they once hoped he would be, but still pretty decent. Fiers and Estrada are in the midst of breakouts that make f7′s look ordinary
@ Aisle424:
Well, right, I was thinking Garza and Demp, but demp is gone either way, I guess. The team has a better chance with Upton than without, I’ll say that.
@ Aisle424:
That’s right. We’ll have F7, Viscaino, Allan Webster, Travis Wood, Chris Volstad. Now that’s a helluva rotation!
Yankees fan on Twitter in regards to Demp OK’ing a trade
“Finally, Yanks catch a break”
I wasn’t aware the Yankees needed a break.
@ Aisle424:
This.
/surprised
@ SVB:
It’s trade deadline day. This is his World Series, any way you slice it.
@ srbutch5:
They might not have quite the best record this year! WHAT GIVES?!
@ josh:
Tomorrow his image will be so big on OV that we’ll have to scroll for 10 minutes to get to other content. (8, if you are using the cool new Mountain Lion.)
@ WaLi:
Bubbles is going to UCF homecoming this year!!!!
So I have a flight that takes off at 3:15 Eastern, but the weather is bad so it could be delayed. I’m kind of hoping that it is delayed for a hour.
@ Berselius:
If I was Theo I’d trade Garza for Kate Upton.
It’s sure been fun watching the FO spin the media on this Yankees rumor.
@ mb21:
Not me. I bet she can’t hit a curveball!!
@ Suburban kid:
Both hopefully. I had to step out, but I’m back now. Only 80 minutes to go.
@ mb21:
1. Acquire Kate
2. Have her do the cat daddy for three hours a day
3. Charge admission
4. Profit
@ mb21:
I think Justin Verlander called dibs.
Regarding Justin Upton, I would love to have the guy. He’s really really good and still young. The cost would be absurd, but say it’s just Garza? No brainer. If it’s Garza plus a bunch of prospects then it defeats the purpose because the Cubs have been doing everything they can to collect prospects.
@ Mucker:
You’re doing it wrong.
@ bubblesdachimp:
If I’m Theo and I acquire Kate it’s not so she can dance for Cubs fans for 3 hours. You could hire some random chick off the street to do that and Cubs fans would be excited to see that rather than the baseball team. (dying laughing)
@ bubblesdachimp:
i don’t think that is how that particular meme works.
Hour to go. We’ll know about any trade within 90 minutes for sure.
@ mb21:
Bubbs sometimes feels like people dont watch the Kate gifs enough or look at the pictures in GQ
@ GW:
yea yea yea… Bubbs forgot a couple question marks..
gaby sanchez —-> buccos (for gorkys and comp pick)
@ bubblesdachimp:
She’s hot, but I can only look at them for so long or so many times.
@ mb21:
They are magnets to my eyes
Gaby Sanchez ———–> Buccos
@ Mercurial Outfielder:
WORLD SERIES!
This is nerve wracking… So much dramaz
Deadline is better with twitter
@ mb21:
it’s a good thing they have two GMs.
GW wrote:
Three if you count Crane
@ WenningtonsGorillaCock:
What about Sveum?
mb21 wrote:
What about Al?
@ mb21:
Demp nixed that trade, probably because he didn’t like the return (he’s a team player, see). He’s gotta get honorable mention.
Dodgers out on Dempster?
So Soriano vetoed a trade to San Fran, but put Detroit on his list? Interesting taste in cities.
Bubbles just lost broxton off his AL only team
@ bubblesdachimp:
worthless in mixed leagues now, too.
@ mb21:
@ GW:
I can’t imagine him in either OF, and the Tigers already have two DHs (three if you count VMart). Odd.
@ GW:
He did? I don’t think there was any offer there to begin with. Just people reporting that SF is on his no trade list
@ GW:
Is there any confirmation of this?
@ mb21:
no confirmation, just vague reports last night. and then specifically mentioned today that he wouldn’t include them on his list.
@ Berselius:
I think someone said he did, but I haven’t seen anyone else saying it. I might have missed it. Declining trades isn’t something I particularly care about (dying laughing)
@ Perkins:
looks like vmart won’t be back this year.
I’m surprised Dempster is still a Cub.
@ mb21:
i can’t keep track of it all. There just seemed to be enough smoke to indicate something was brewing, and that adolfo wasn’t down.
@ GW:
Yeah a torn ACL is a motherfucker of an injury.
They can do waiver trades after 4pm, but isn’t today the last day to get someone on the post-season roster. Or is that end of August?
@ josh:
End of August.
maybe someone will forget how waivers works and claim soriano
bubblesdachimp wrote:
someone = White Sox
dodgers out on dempster
yankees?
@ GW:
That’s so 30 minutes ago. Can’t you keep up? @ mb21
@ GW:
That’s the rumor.
six minutes left?! Shit I forgot to move up the VCR clock an hour.
@ mb21:
i don’t trust your sources.
@ GW:
Heyman says they may have acquired him. Maybe. Maybe not. (dying laughing)
@ Eric:
3 minutes now.
If the trade requires commissioner’s approval (more than $1 million being exchanged), it could be confirmed after 3, but I don’t think I’ve ever seen a trade not confirmed within 30 minutes of the deadline.
Muskat is saying Rangers for Demp.
less then two minutes
@ josh:
buster confirms
Olney says Rangers
Demp ———> TEX being HEAVILY reported
new shit: http://www.obstructedview.net/news-and-rumors/rangers-acquire-ryan-dempster.html
Dodgers look to have lost out on all the arms. Wow. Big FAIL for that FO.
Woof Casey Coleman starts tonight