Looking back at Ryan Dempster's half-season in Texas in 2012, the Rangers got about what they could've expected from a guy they gave up basically nothing for at the trade deadline when they gave up two Single-A prospects for the right-hander who was among the NL leaders in ERA for the Chicago Cubs over the first half of the year.
Of course, his transition to the AL didn't go quite so smoothly and he never figured out how to beat good teams while looking great against bad ones and taking up the No. 3 spot in the Rangers' rotation.
So yeah, basically, you got what you expected out of Dempster.
So it's safe to say the 35-year-old won't be back in a Rangers uniform in 2013 as the free agent is searching for a three-year deal after posting a 5.09 ERA in the AL and a 2.25 ERA in the NL last season. You would assume Dempster would want a return to the National League, and possibly even the Cubs, but it seems the teams who are showing the most interest in him are the Boston Red Sox, Los Angeles Angels and Milwaukee Brewers, according to Fox Sports' Ken Rosenthal.
It would seem crazy for a team to give a 35-year-old three years, especially in the American League, but imagine if the Angels did just that after apparently bowing out of the Zack Greinke sweepstakes. That would make the Angels' rotation Jered Weaver, C.J. Wilson and Dempster after parting ways with Dan Haren and Ervin Santana already this offseason.
Consider that a win for the Rangers.
