Rangers Acquire Ryan Dempster From Cubs
By: Rangers Communications
Updated: July 31, 2012
Arlington, Texas - The Texas Rangers announced this afternoon that the club has acquired right-handed pitcher Ryan Dempster from the Chicago Cubs
in exchange for minor leaguers Christian Villanueva and Kyle Hendricks.
Dempster,
35, has gone 5-5 with a 2.25 ERA (26 ER/104.0 IP) in 16 games/starts
for the Cubs this season. Opponents have batted .210 (81-386) with 27
walks and 83 strikeouts. His 1.038 WHIP this season ranks 6th in the
majors and 3rd in the National League. Dempster, who was scheduled to
start for the Cubs tonight against Pittsburgh in Chicago, has gone 5-2
with a 1.40 ERA (7 ER/45.0 IP) in his last 7
starts spanning a stint on the disabled list. He averaged 3.89 runs of
support per 9 innings, the 12th-lowest figure among National League
qualifiers. He has seen two stints on the disabled list this season,
April 18-May 3 with a right quadriceps strain and
June 16-July 8 with a sore right lat muscle.
Dempster
originally signed with the Texas organization after being selected in
the third round of the 1995 June draft. He has a career record of
117-121
with a 4.31 ERA over 535 games/310 starts with Florida (1998-2002),
Cincinnati (2002-03), and Chicago-NL (2004-12). He is a two-time
All-Star (2000 & 2008).
Hendricks,
a right-handed pitcher, has gone 5-8 with a 2.82 ERA (41 ER/130.2 IP), 2
complete games, and 112 strikeouts against 15 walks in 20 games/starts
with High-A Myrtle Beach this season. The 22-year-old was originally
selected in the 8th round of the 2011 June draft out of Darmouth.
Villanueva
batted .285 (107-375) with 19 doubles, 10 home runs and 59 RBI in 100
games with High-A Myrtle Beach. The 21-year-old right-handed batter
and thrower has spent his entire career with the Rangers after signing
as a non-drafted free agent on August 17, 2008 out of Mexico.
With these moves, the Rangers now have a full 40-man roster.
