The Carlos Zambrano saga took another turn yesterday when the Cubs placed Big Z on the restricted list while he attends anger management training. The restricted list is used when players need to be away from the game for a reason other than injury or bereavement. Milton Bradley was placed on the resticted list earlier this year by Seattle while he danced with his demons.
Zambrano will be paid for his time away from the team, so for all intent and purposes, there was no suspension. It’s unclear how long the anger management training will last, but my understanding is that players can only stay on the restricted list for a maximum of 30 days.
Of course, this is good news for the Cubs. Had Zambrano remained suspended, the Cubs were going to be stuck with having only 24 players on the big league roster. However, MLB rules allow teams to replace a player on the restricted list, meaning the Cubs can go with the traditional 25 man roster.
So what now? What happens when Zambrano is done with anger management training and is ready to resume his place in society? A lot of people feel Z should be waived or traded. In my last post, I explained why trading Zambrano might be easier said than done. In a nutshell, Z is:
- Underperforming
- Owed $45.4 million
- Has a no-trade clause in his contract
These things would make it tough, but not impossible, to trade the big right-hander.
Despite the difficulty involved in putting together a trade, our friends over at MLB Trade Rumors.com put together a list of potential trades the Cubs could make involving Zambrano. They include:
- Zambrano to Houston for Carlos Lee
- Zambrano to San Francisco for Aaron Rowand and Edgar Reteria
- Zambrano to the Mets for Oliver Perez and Luis Castillo
- Zambrano to Atlanta for Derek Lowe
- Zambrano to Cleveland for Travis Hafner, Kerry Wood, and Jake Westbrook
- Zambrano to Kansas City for Gil Meche, Jose Guillen, and Kyle Farnsworth
- Zambrano to the Yankees for A.J. Burnett
One of the commenters at MLBTR then floated the possibility of:
- Zambrano to Baltimore for Brian Roberts
As MLBTR pointed out, some of these trades would require that the Cubs also kick in a portion of Zambrano’s rather hefty salary.
A lot of people feel the Zambrano to the Mets rumor has the most possibilities. The Mets are in need of starting pitching, Perez is holding the team hostage by refusing to go to the minor leagues to work out his pitching problems, and the Mets desperately want to move Castillo and his contract. The Mets have been keeping their eye on a possible trade with Seattle for Cliff Lee, but one of the Mets trading chips, minor leaguer Jenrry Mejia, went down with an injury, making a Cliff Lee deal less likely. Moving quickly on Zambrano could shore up their pitching staff without disturbing their farm system.
New York is a place that Zambrano might fancy. He views himself as a big stage kind of guy and he might just jump at the chance to remake himself on the biggest stage in baseball.
Of course, the Cubs have some say in the matter and my hope is that they say “no way.” Perez is a mess and Castillo is both not very good and overpaid. Why trade one problem for two?
Of course, this brings up the question, is it even necessary/desireable to trade Zambrano? For me, the jury is still out. Last year, I strongly fell on the side of trading Milton Bradley at all costs. He was a malcontent who did not care about playing well or helping the team. Zambrano seems to be just the opposite, although I’ll be quick to admit that he is going about being a team player in the wrong way.
In a conversation Z had with former teammate Kevin Millar following his suspension, Z explained that he was trying to fire up the team and was not trying to call out any one person, including Derrek Lee. He also admitted that he knew he wasn’t the right person for the job, considering his own struggles. However, when no one else stepped up, his frustration got the best of him and he threw a tantrum. Obviously, not the best course of action, but I do appreciate his desire to fire up the team and win baseball games.
Having said that, Zambrano has a long track record of inappropriate behavior during his career. The most significant was beating up his battery mate, Michael Barrett. So I don’t want to paint Zambrano as a guy who is simply full of passion and who wants to fire up his team to play better. Z has issues, there’s no doubt about that. Even so, I don’t think the Cubs are in the same boat with Z that they were with Bradley. They don’t have to trade him come hell or high water.
Even so, Hendry should keep his eyes out for a potential trade. Zambrano is not irreplaceable. If Hendry’s old buddy Andy McPhail calls and wants to discuss a Zambrano for Brian Roberts trade, by all means, Hendry should listen.
