TORONTO — Ryan Dempster knows the situation.
He knows the 23-man provisional roster Team Canada submitted Saturday for the upcoming World Baseball Classic is thin on starting pitching.
He knows how much his country needs him.
Perhaps that’s why the 35-year-old Boston Red Sox pitcher says he needs more time before making a final decision on whether or not he’ll participate.
The Gibsons, B.C., native was not named to the provisional roster despite being healthy heading into the 2013 season. He took a pass on the 2009 event a short time after signing a four-year, $52-million deal with the Chicago Cubs.
His health didn’t factor into the decision back then, he says.
Had he been named to Team Canada Saturday, Dempster — who posted a 3.38 ERA and 1.197 WHIP in 28 starts between the Chicago Cubs and Texas Rangers in 2012 — would be the unquestioned ace of the staff.
But as he explained to a group of reporters Saturday, while he is considering participating, he’s in no rush to make a final decision.
“I have a little while to try and think over some things and figure out if it’s something I’m going to be able to do,” he said prior to Baseball Canada’s annual national teams awards banquet and fundraiser. “There’s a lot of different variables for me; I’m getting a little bit older, it takes me a little longer to get the engine running. If it is something that I’m doing or I’m playing then I want to be make sure I can go out there and put my best performance out there.”
If Dempster doesn’t play, candidates to take the ball in his place March 8 in Team Canada’s tournament opener against Team Italy include Pittsburgh Pirates right-hander Chris Leroux and Detroit Tigers non-roster invitee and former Toronto Blue Jay Shawn Hill.
Minnesota Twins lefty Scott Diamond has been ruled out of the WBC after undergoing surgery to repair a bone chip in his elbow and Rich Harden is taking a pass as he tries to earn a spot this spring in the Twins rotation.
Potentially complicating matters is the two-year, $26.5 million deal Dempster signed with the Boston Red Sox on Dec. 13. He said the possibility of playing in the WBC has been “briefly” discussed with his new team, and that it will assuredly will come up again.
But in the end, he says a final decision on the WBC — one that has no current deadline — will ultimately come down to how his body feels.
“Obviously I’ve got a career and an employer that’s expecting me to be ready to pitch, but also if I’m going to be ready to go up there and pitch in the WBC, I’ve got to get through this winter and be ready to go out there and do what I need to do so, I’m just trying to judge that and gauge where I’m at and we’ll see,” he said.
As for how he landed with the Red Sox, Dempster said they wanted him the most and he’s been a fan of their off-season moves to date, including the one in the dugout.
“When I started to see the things they were doing, adding some different pieces and some really good players, good baseball guys and getting a manager like John Farrell really appealed to me,” he explained. “It just kind of came together and I’m really excited about getting going there and contending for a championship.”
When asked what specifically about Farrell appealed to him, Dempster replied that Farrell is, “a really good man, really well respected around baseball.
“Just some of the conversations I’ve had with him, really great, honest conversations about what they’re trying to do in Boston. He wanted me to be a part of that and it’s something that really appealed to me.”
#redsox Dempster also says #bluejays did not pursue him this off-season. — Mike Cormack (@MikeCormack) January 12, 2013
#redsox Dempster also says #bluejays did not pursue him this off-season.
— Mike Cormack (@MikeCormack) January 12, 2013
Following a mid-season trade from the Cubs to the Rangers, Dempster struggled against American League hitters, posting a 5.09 ERA in 12 AL starts vs. a 2.25 ERA in 16 starts in the Senior Circuit.
The challenge of pitching full-time in baseball’s toughest division in 2013 is one he says he looks forward to.
“No matter where you’re pitching, who you’re pitching against, if you make pitches and you execute your pitches as consistently, as efficiently as possible, you’re going to have success and that’s how I look at it,” he said. “It doesn’t matter who you’re pitching against, or where you’re pitching. It matters how you execute pitches.”
But before he needs to start worrying about the likes of Jose Bautista, Robinson Cano and Evan Longoria, Dempster must concern himself with whether or not he’s up to the task of representing his country — in possibly his last opportunity.
“Hopefully it’s something I can do, and if not, I’ll be pulling for these guys as much as anybody,” he said.
