November 29, 2012

Hot Stove Report: Brewers Begin Testing Pitching Market

The Winter Meetings start next week and, as I’ve said more than once in this space, there is opportunity for a lot to get done every year during them.

If I need to post a picture of Ryan Dempster, why not post a picture of Ryan Dempster with Marisa Miller?

Last year we here at Brewer Nation were the first to bring to you that the Brewers made contact and were potentially “down the road” with then free agent Aramis Ramirez prior to the Winter Meetings. We had the money right though we were slightly off on the years (though we later learned that it may have been a misinterpretation on our end of the information we obtained).

Well, Doug Melvin is at it again in the days leading up to the 2012 Winter Meetings in Nashville, Tennessee. Though “it” in this case is merely dipping his toe in to test the water a bit more so than being anywhere significant.

FoxSports.com’s Ken Rosenthal reported this morning that the Brewers are one of three teams that have “shown interest” in free agent starting pitcher Ryan Dempster.

(By the way, this absolutely qualifies as something that makes sense but that I hadn’t yet heard independently so it’s not something I had passed along yet.)

Rosenthal said in a tweet earlier:

Sources: #Brewers, #RedSox, #Angels among teams expressing interest in Dempster. Seeking three-year deal.

— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) November 29, 2012

Naturally, I’ve already seen on Twitter where someone interpreted that as “The Brewers are close to signing Dempster to a three-year deal.” Jumping to conclusions is one of the most repeated acts on the internet.

But just take Rosenthal’s tweet for what it says which (according to his sources) is:

Ryan Dempster wants a three-year contract.
The Milwaukee Brewers have expressed interest in Ryan Dempster.
The Boston Red Sox have expressed interest in Ryan Dempster.
The Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim have expressed interest in Ryan Dempster.

It does not say that any of those teams are willing to give Dempster a three-year deal, just that Dempster (understandably) is seeking a three-year deal. It does not say that Dempster is not willing to sign a contract at less than three years. It does not say whether any of the mentioned teams expressed their interest in Dempster after they learned that Dempster is seeking a three-year deal.

I hope I’ve covered all the ways the you could read into Rosenthal’s tweet.

I’ve reached out to someone to see if he knows anything further about the Brewers “expressed interest” in Ryan Dempster. I’ll update this space when I hear back.

***UPDATE: I heard back. My friend had heard the Brewers being tied to Dempster but thought it was “speculative” talk that sometimes goes on and not something concrete enough to pass along.***

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