MLB Trade Rumors: Could Ryan Dempster Help Stabilize Boston's Rotation?

Ryan Dempster of the Chicago Cubs could be an appealing trade target for the Boston Red Sox as they look to try to right the ship if he indeed becomes available.

Jon Heyman of CBS Sports suggested Dempster as a great target because of his incredible 1.02 ERA over his first five starts. He hasn't received a win yet, but with an ERA like that, you really can't blame him for not doing enough.

Also, he has been striking out batters in bunches, with 36 of them in 35.1 innings while only walking 10. When you combine those 10 walks with the 20 hits that he has allowed, you're left with a nice WHIP of 0.85.

In a sense, I entirely agree with this sentiment. He has been a great pitcher so far this year, and when he starts receiving all of the run support that the Boston Red Sox are capable of providing, those wins will start piling up.

There is one reason for concern, however. One of the main reasons that the Boston Red Sox score so many runs is because Fenway Park definitely favors offense.

Ryan Dempster is a flyball pitcher. This year, his ground ball to flyball ratio is 0.63. Normally, you would prefer a ratio greater than one when playing in a small ballpark like Boston because that is indicative of more ground ball outs than flyball outs.

That doesn't mean that the Red Sox should not try to pursue Dempster. In fact, with this one caveat in mind, they should pursue Dempster if he becomes available.

He has been a winner throughout his career, and once he gets some run support, that trend will definitely continue.

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