The last 48 hours have been tenuous for Atlanta Braves baseball fans to say the least. Word broke yesterday that the Braves and Chicago Cubs agreed to a deal that would send ace Ryan Dempster to Atlanta for Randall Delgado.
Fans of both franchises were ecstatic with the move. For the Braves, Dempster provided stability to a rotation that has been plagued by a season-ending injury to Brandon Beachy and uneven performances by Tommy Hanson, Randall Delgado, and Mike Minor. The Cubs gained a young pitcher in Delgado who could develop without the added pressure of a pennant race in the back of his mind.
As the day wore on, reports began filtering out that Dempster was not aware of any impending trade and then early today MLBTradeRumors.com reported that Dempster was on the fence about signing any deal because he wanted the Cubs to re-open trade talks with his first choice, the Los Angeles Dodgers.
As a player with 10 years of MLB experience, including five with his current team, Ryan Dempster has the right to veto any trade this season per the Collective Bargaining Agreement. This article will list five reasons why the Braves are better off without Ryan Dempster.