The Braves didn't get Ryan Dempster, so they turned to Zack Greinke.
They didn't get Zack Greinke, so now they'll turn . . . back to Ryan Dempster?
The longer the Cubs go without agreeing to trade Dempster to the Dodgers, and the longer the Braves go without acquiring another starting pitcher, the more people in baseball start thinking that Dempster could end up with the Braves, after all.
Dempster never directly said that he wouldn't go to the Braves, but he also never approved the deal that the two teams reached last week. While that trade isn't still on the table, it still seems clear that the Braves are willing to offer more for Dempster than the Dodgers are.
Because he has more than 10 years and the big leagues and more than five with his current team, Dempster owns the right to approve or reject any trade.
Dempster's indecision last week caught the Braves by surprise, because they had been led to believe that they were one of two teams he would agree to go to (with the Dodgers being the other one).
The Braves still hope to add a pitcher, but they've suggested to other teams that they didn't have a hot second option behind Greinke, who the Brewers traded to the Angels on Friday night.
When the original Dempster deal fell through, Braves general manager Frank Wren told reporters that he was moving on. But the Braves have continued to monitor the situation, as the Cubs and Dodgers reached an impasse over what prospect or prospects would go to Chicago in a deal.
The Braves have already added a pitcher this month, and they like to remind you that Ben Sheets has won each of his first three starts, with a 0.50 ERA. While the Braves lost out to the Angels on Greinke, they beat out the Cardinals, Yankees and Phillies to sign Sheets.
Still, it's obvious that the Braves would like to add one more pitcher. Manager Fredi Gonzalez announced Saturday that he was putting Jair Jurrjens in the bullpen, with Kris Medlen replacing him in the rotation, for now.
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