Since returning to the starting rotation on August 9th, Carlos Zambrano has shown flashes of what made him one of baseball's elite pitchers. In seven starts, Big Z has an ERA of 1.60 with 7.8 K/9, though two walk-heavy games have left him with a 5.0 BB/9 rate in that stretch. Bruce Levine of ESPNChicago.com was in the locker room after his latest strong outing on Friday against Milwaukee when Zambrano was asked about the possibility of being traded this winter.
“I don’t want to talk about that,” the 29-year-old said. “I feel happy, I love this team and I want to stay here. I want to stay here the rest of my contract. No more trade talk.”
The righthander is owed almost $36MM over the next two seasons and has a vesting player option worth $19.25MM for 2013. Even though the Cubs have been hoping that Zambrano would restore his value so that they can dump his contract, they obviously can't expect much in return for him.
Should the Cubs keep Zambrano?
They don’t have an option but to keep him, they can’t move him with that contract!
He has done great since coming back from an injury, might as well keep him and not pay him to play for another team.
Doesn’t matter if he throws shutouts the rest of the season, most sane GM’s realize he is a time bomb worth a minimum 36M that can go off any second. Look no further that his ex teammate Bradley who barely kept his emotions in check for 1 year with Texas in 2008 before erupting with the Cubs.
They can’t trade this guy, unless taking back some “thing” like Ollie Perez in return or an equally brutal contract. Face it Cubs.. he’s all yours.
This is the only way out, unless the Cubs just DFA the guy. A bad contract/head case swap and then pray for some good luck with the return – sort of like Silva. It is a guarantee that Zambrano will blow up again, performance/emotionally/both for the Cubs in 2011.
He has really, really pitched well lately and ever since he visited that sports psycherieyst, he has behaved quite well. He looks like the old Zambrano on the mound and I see no problem at all with giving him another chance like they are doing now.
I think it has less to do with the “psychiatrist” and more to do with the fact that the Cubs are not competing and the pressure is off. He’ll pitch just fine on any team with no playoff hopes.
He’s shown the ability to pitch well in a pennant race before. It’s not like he crumbles under pressure.
He’s shown the ability to pitch well in a pennant race before. It’s not like he crumbles under pressure.
Any team that would take on this psychopath, even for free, is as crazy as he is.
the answer should be no, the best thing for the cubs is to blow that team up and scout and draft well
Agreed. The Cubs should trade Zambrano not because he’s crazy or washed up or any of the other comments I’ve read here and elsewhere. The Cubs should trade Zambrano because this team needs to fully commit to rebuilding from the ground up. That means trading away the older, expensive players, and promoting players from Tennessee and Iowa. Hopefully the Cubs will find a nice combination of players from the system, and through trades, that they can later support through free agency to build a consistent winner.
Agreed. Rebuild and start over. This guy has talent but clearly the Cubs aren’t the team that will bring it out in him. If he went some where like the Yankees, Red Sox, Mets, maybe even the White Sox he would probably succeed. He needs to be some where with a strong veteran presence, a good pitching coach, and a manager and GM that don’t put up with the crap the Cubs have let him do for years. If the Cubs are willing to eat maybe 5 million a year of his hideous contract than he can be traded. The last thing you do is trade him for another bad contract in return. Pay some of the money and you will get some young talent in return.
They should trade him to the dodgers. Because I love to watch them implode.
The question shouldn’t be “Should they” because the answer to that is “No.” He’s obviously had problems there and they will probably come back at some point or another, he’d be better off somewhere else.
The question should be more like “Will they?” The answer to that would be “Yes.” I don’t know anyone who will take on that contract with the way he’s been playing. He’s not really all that great of a pitcher. That plus his temper problems that it seems like he has, good luck finding a trade for him.
No. Every quality start should be looked at as less money the Cubs will have to eat in the offseason. The Cubs have the payroll, but need flexibility in the payroll. At the same time, they have a number of holes to fill, so trading Zambrano should be down on the list behind finding a long-term 1B solution, #1 SP and a position player who can lead off.
Nady seems to be playing better now that he is getting regular AB’s – thinking cubs resign him for a 1-2 yr deal to play 1B and occasional OF and maybe dump enough off the books by end of next year to be in the fielder/Agon sweepstakes. Silva,Fukudome, Aram all gone opens up $$. As far as leadoff – you would have to imagine the Brian roberts rumors should start up again soon. Aram and Dewitt + .. not sure of Balt needs ( pretty sure showalter won’t want Zambrano though )
I’m in favor of either a short term/inexpensive 1B option like Nady or trying to work out a trade for a 1B prospect that is blocked.
I mentioned this in another post, but I would try to get Jacoby Ellsbury to fill the leadoff spot. He’s 5 years younger than Roberts. Reports are that the Sox FO is down on him with the way he’s been rehabbing away from the team this year. I don’t know what it would take to get him, but I think this season has moved him off the untouchable, elite package return list. I wonder with Crawford available in the offseason, if the Sox might be inclined to trade Ellsbury to fill a need and sign Crawford to lead off for them.
Nady seems to be playing better now that he is getting regular AB’s – thinking cubs resign him for a 1-2 yr deal to play 1B and occasional OF and maybe dump enough off the books by end of next year to be in the fielder/Agon sweepstakes. Silva,Fukudome, Aram all gone opens up $$. As far as leadoff – you would have to imagine the Brian roberts rumors should start up again soon. Aram and Dewitt + .. not sure of Balt needs ( pretty sure showalter won’t want Zambrano though )
No. Every quality start should be looked at as less money the Cubs will have to eat in the offseason. The Cubs have the payroll, but need flexibility in the payroll. At the same time, they have a number of holes to fill, so trading Zambrano should be down on the list behind finding a long-term 1B solution, #1 SP and a position player who can lead off.
Zambrano is crazy yes, but part of the problem is the Cubs have enabled him to do what ever he has wanted for the last 5 or 6 years without having to worry about being punished in the process. Lou and Hendry have let him get away with murder for years. Not only Zambrano but most of the guys on this team get away with murder. I’m sick and tired of Big Z missing team flights, hitting gatorade machines, and fighting with teammates and the Cubs allow it to happen. This guy has to go at all costs, but don’t bring back crap in return. No Carlos Silva contracts in return. The Cubs need to change the whole culture of this team. No more allowing guys to hit balls of the wall and only getting a single out of it because they are in their home run trot. Somebody doesn’t want to hustle then they don’t need to play for a couple days. It is time to start over and wait for some of these bad contracts to come off the books, not add to them.