The Chicago Cubs traded Ryan Dempster to the Texas Rangers on Tuesday afternoon -- just moments before the 3:00 p.m. CDT trade deadline -- in a multi-player deal, according to a report by Buster Olney of ESPN:
Rangers land Ryan Dempster
— Buster Olney (@Buster_ESPN) July 31, 2012
The 35-year-old veteran pitcher was enjoying a career year with the Cubs. He produced a 2.25 ERA and 3.40 FIP over 104 innings with the Cubs in 2012, but was on the block because Chicago dropped out of the playoff picture very early in the season.
Dempster is in the final year of his current contract and was almost dealt to the Atlanta Braves earlier in July, but his 10-and-5 no-trade rights came into play and that deal fell through. Los Angeles was believed to be Dempster's preferred landing spot all along.
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