Signing Ryan Dempster indicates the Red Sox will lean heavily on Jon Lester and Clay Buchholz in 2013.
Ryan Dempster will provide starting rotation depth for the Boston Red Sox
No secret was made of the Boston Red Sox' interest in free agent pitcher Ryan Dempster. Thursday, they reportedly signed him to a two-year, $26.5-million contract.
Dempster has only spent a few months in the American League during his 15-year career. They weren't too impressive.
He was acquired by the Texas Rangers from the Chicago Cubs at the 2012 trade deadline, but was not particularly effective in the AL, going 7-3 with a 5.09 ERA.
Perhaps an offseason to fully adjust to new surroundings will improve things? Dempster has traditionally been much better than he was during his brief stint with the Rangers, and he spent the first half of 2012 as one of the lone bright spots on a very bad Cubs team.
Dempster left the Cubs with a 5-5 record and a sparkling 2.25 ERA. Those numbers are probably not an accurate reflection of the pitcher the Red Sox acquired; but while Dempster might be worse than his numbers in Chicago, he could very well be better than his numbers in Texas.
[ALSO READ: DEMPSTER NOT AN ACE, BUT THE BEST AVAILABLE OPTION]
Maybe Anibal Sanchez and Kyle Lohse are better pitchers, but they would have required a bigger or longer monetary commitment. Dempster will be hard-pressed to earn the lofty annual salary the Red Sox have given him, but he is only signed for two years.
That allows the Red Sox to maintain long-term payroll flexibility and even opens the window for the possibility of dealing Dempster in the not-too-distant future, should the Sox need to do so.
Signing Dempster also could be an indication the Red Sox think Jon Lester's 2012 performance was an aberration, not a preview of things to come. If they really doubted Lester, they probably would have made a real charge for someone more elite, like Sanchez, Lohse or Zach Greinke.
Lester's 2012 was a disaster. He didn't strike out batters with the same frequency he had in the past. He was more hittable, more prone to allowing the long ball, and far less consistent.
The other pitcher indirectly impacted by the Dempster signing is Clay Buchholz.
If things don't change dramatically between now and Opening Day, the Red Sox will start the 2013 season with Lester and Buchholz as their top two starting pitchers.
Both have shown the ability to be top-of-the-rotation starters.
Both have also struggled with consistency and health.
With the exception of a Cy Young-caliber 2010 season, Buchholz has normally spent parts of his seasons nearly untouchable, and parts looking quite mortal. He's also been injury-prone.
John Lackey, bouncing back from Tommy John surgery, could also compete for a spot in the rotation. Felix Doubront will be counted on to improve upon a solid 2012 debut as a regular starter.
Don't forget the Red Sox minor league system, which features potential future starters in Matt Barnes, Allen Webster and Rubby De La Rosa.
One can only be so critical of the Dempster signing because the Red Sox simply didn't have the option of acquiring an ace. Guys like Felix Hernandez, Justin Verlander and Roy Halladay aren't on the market, and there are few signs pitchers of that caliber will be made available via trade.
Even this season's best free agent pitcher, Greinke, was not a bona fide ace. In spite of the six-year, $147-million deal the Los Angeles Dodgers gave him, he won't even be the team's number one starter. The ace of that staff is Clayton Kershaw, a 24-year old already with four seasons posting an earned run average under 3.00, compared to one for the 29-year old Greinke.
The Dodgers shelled out ace money for a pitcher who probably isn't an ace.
So don't be amazed, appalled, upset or stunned that the Red Sox have now in all likelihood overpaid for Dempster.
The Red Sox are playing the free agent pitcher game in a market where the demand exceeds the supply.
Dempster? He's a symptom of that market imbalance.
Could he be a good acquisition in Boston? Yes, maybe, but the signing also reveals something else about the 2013 Boston Red Sox:
They're only going to go as far as Lester and Buchholz can get them.
Is 2013 the season when the duo finally comes together to anchor the staff?
Red Sox fans better hope so.