I’ll admit, sometimes I feel like Kyle Hendricks is a home-grown product of the Chicago Cubs. He’s spent all five of his big league seasons on the North Side, won a World Series and came close to winning the National League Cy Young award in 2016.
However, Hendricks’ career with the Cubs very nearly didn’t happen and it wouldn’t have if not for former Cub Ryan Dempster. I say that because Dempster really played a role in getting Hendricks to Chicago.
At the 2012 trade deadline, Dempster was one of the hottest pitching targets on the market.