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| Ryan Dempster may have made his last start in a Cubs uniform on Saturday. (US Presswire) |
Trade talk is in the air in Chicago -- where Justin Upton and the Diamondbacks are taking on the Cubs in what may be Ryan Dempster's last start with the Cubs.
In the new two-wild card world, the Cubs are one of the few teams that are definitely in a sellers' mode, while the Diamondbacks aren't completely out of it, a trade of the ultra-talented Justin Upton could bring back a king's ransom. That's exactly why they're considering it.
Arizona general manager Kevin Towers told Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic that he'll listen to any offer -- and always has. He said when he was in San Diego, he listened to offers for Trevor Hoffman, just didn't pull the trigger.
"If somebody overwhelms you -- people do crazy things sometimes at trade deadlines," Towers told the Republic. "If you get four or five players that you think is going to make you good for the long haul, I think you've got to look at it. It's never easy to move star-type players, but it's happened before, it's going to happen again. It's part of the business."
Towers also noted he's talked to Upton about the rumors and would inform his star when something was in the works.
The Cubs have two attractive starting pitching pitchers in Ryan Dempster and Matt Garza. There's also outfielder/DH Alfonso Soriano.
Cubs general manager Jed Hoyer said he expects the "phones to start ringing" soon.
"I expect it only to pick up over the next week as we get closer to the deadline," Hoyer told the Chicago Tribune.
Dempster pitched six shutout innings on Saturday, increasing his scoreless innings streak to 33.
In the American League, just three teams are more than five games out of the wild card chase, and only one, the Mariners, is 10 games out of the wild card. Kansas City is 7 1/2 games out, while Minnesota is 9 games out of the wild card. Those teams -- the Mariners, Royals and Twins -- are three of just four teams under .500 entering Saturday's games, with the Blue Jays one game under .500 following Friday's loss.
There's a bit more separation in the National League, with eight teams five or more games out of the wild card entering Saturday's game and five 12 or more games out. The Diamondbacks are 6 games out, followed by the Marlins (7), Brewers (7), Phillies (12), Cubs (14), Rockies (14), Padres (15) and Astros (15 1/2).
Arizona is just five games behind the Dodgers (and 4 1/2 behind the Giants) in the NL West, so it's way too early to say they're out of the race.
"I think there's room for improvement there," Towers told the Republic of his team. "I'd like to do something. But it takes two to tango in a trade. I think I know what our needs are. I think I know what can help this ballclub. It's just finding the right match."
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