LOS ANGELES — There’s been some confusion as to who said what to whom regarding the Cubs’ negotiations with the Dodgers about Ryan Dempster.
Theo Epstein, Cubs president of baseball operations, implied that Dempster was in the same room with him and general manager Jed Hoyer during their discussions with Dodgers general manager Ned Colletti. However, sources said Sunday that wasn’t the case, that Dempster wasn’t in the same office and that he talked directly to Colletti separately.
A baseball source said Dempster, at the suggestion of Epstein, called Colletti’s cell phone 30 minutes before Tuesday’s Trade Deadline. They spoke long enough for Dempster to be convinced a trade to the Dodgers would not happen.
Dempster was in the Cubs office building in case a quick decision needed to be made prior to the Deadline. Dempster had made it clear he wanted to be traded to the Dodgers.
“Once he came into our office and actually heard the conversations we had with L.A., he came to realize, ‘OK, that’s not actually going to happen, let me consider a couple other places,’ and the [Texas] deal got done with about three minutes left,” Epstein said on Wednesday.
The problem is that Epstein’s statements were taken literally. Dempster was not actually in the same office as Epstein, but was down the hall. Epstein said Dempster needed to hear “firsthand” and apparently meant the pitcher needed to talk to Colletti directly.
When the two teams couldn’t work out a deal, Dempster agreed to go to the Rangers, and a trade was consummated shortly before the Deadline.
Carrie Muskat is a reporter for MLB.com. She writes a blog, Muskat Ramblings, and you can follow her on Twitter @CarrieMuskat. Reporter Ken Gurnick contributed to this story. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.
