The trade that everyone has been talking about for almost a month seems to have finally happened. The Braves have acquired starting pitcher Ryan Dempster from the Chicago Cubs, according to sources:
Confirmed Ryan Dempster is coming to the Braves.Still trying to confirm details but Delgado could be on the other end of the deal
— Mark Bowman (@mlbbowman) July 23, 2012
Hopefully this is not Randall Delgado, or if it is, hopefully there is more to this. That seems like a lot to give up in return for a rent-a-pitcher. The Braves do have another Delgado in their system, Dimasther, who might have a bit of trade value.
More to come...
[UPDATE 4pm]
After an initial flurry of confirmations that the deal is done, that does not seem to be the case. Ryan Dempster tweeted that there is no deal, and is in uniform in the Cubs clubhouse. He has 10/5 veto rights on any trade.
Another possible hold up could be the money that the Cubs would likely be sending to the Braves. That would need approval from the MLB Commissioner's office.
It was reported that Randall Delgado would be the other player in the trade, going to the Cubs. But as of 4pm, Randall Delgado's agent had not heard anything about him being traded.
I would imagine there's a deal in place, but a lot of red tape to cut through in the form of MLB approval and Dempster's approval.