HOUSTON -- Ryan Dempster is happy about going to the Cincinnati Reds.

The right-hander was dealt Thursday from the Florida Marlins for outfielder Juan Encarnacion, infielder Wilton Guerrero and minor league pitcher Ryan Snare.

''I'm glad to be coming somewhere where they've got a chance to win,'' Dempster said. ''I'm not just hoping I can be a part of that. I also feel like I can bring something to the table.''

Dempster, 25, was 5-8 with a 4.79 ERA in 18 starts for the Marlins. He has 42 career victories -- the Florida franchise record.

''It's tough, because I've been with the Marlins since day one in the big leagues,'' Dempster said. ''But in the same sense, I'm excited to go to Cincinnati. They've got a great group of guys. I already know a lot of them. And, they're just two games out of first place.''

Reds manager Bob Boone likes Dempster's durability.

''I've never missed a start since my big league career began, actually,'' Dempster said. ''That's something I take a lot of pride in. I think I prepare myself well.

''Last year and the year before, I threw 200-plus innings, and that was throwing 110, 115 pitches a game. My arm always felt pretty good. It feels great right now. I'm revved up for the second half. I feel like this is a fresh, new start.''

The Reds have been looking for their starting pitchers to pitch more innings.

''We've felt since spring training ''We've felt from spring training on that we would go as far as our starting pitching takes us,'' manager Bob Boone said. ''We've pitched well but we haven't been getting a lot of innings. We needed to get our pitchers deeper into the game. This is something we really needed and something Dempster will help with.'' The Associated Press