The Chicago Cubs re-signed starter Ryan Dempster to a four-year, $52 million contract.
The 31-year-old right-hander was 17-6 with a 2.96 ERA for the Cubs this season.
“It was imperative that we kept him in house,” general manager Jim Hendry said. “No doubt in our minds that Ryan would have exceeded this deal on the streets in three or four weeks from now, the way the market is for starting pitching. Ryan was committed. From Day One he told us he wanted to stay. And it was a priority for us to try and get it done before we got too far down the road in the winter.”
As the Cubs’ closer from 2005-07, Dempster saved 87 games in 102 chances. After earning a spot in the rotation during spring training following rigorous workouts last offseason, he returned to the starter’s role he held with the Marlins and Reds from 1998-2003.
Dempster went 14-3 at Wrigley Field during the regular season.
Not bad money for a guy that could only win at Wrigley Field last year. It’ll be interesting to see if the Cubs can now pull off a deal for Jake Peavy.
