Two days after Carlos Zambrano's dugout tantrum caused him to be removed from Friday's start against the White Sox and suspended indefinitely, the Cubs haven't heard a word from their fiery pitcher. In fact, according to MLB.com, Zambrano hasn't spoken to Jim Hendry or Lou Piniella, but he did have dinner after Friday's game with Ozzie Guillen, a fellow Venezuelan who apparently tried to calm him down a bit. We still don't know the full details behind what happened on Friday, but the Chicago Sun-Times is reporting that Zambrano is blaming Derrek Lee for the entire incident for misunderstanding Zambrano's attempt to pump the dugout up.
Other players on the team, including Alfonso Soriano, told the Sun-Times that Zambrano was apparently the only person who saw things that way.
Even with July 31 trade deadline just over a month away, the Cubs will likely be hard-pressed to find someone to take their temperamental right-hander off their hands.
Zambrano's owed $17.875 million in 2011, $18 million in 2012, and a $19.25 million vesting option for 2013. He's also got a full no-trade clause. Given his performance on the field (he's got a 5.66 ERA and 1.69 WHIP while hitters are hitting .303/.379/.447 against him) and off of it, it's hard to believe anyone will take a risk on assuming that salary.
His strikeout numbers and walk numbers are pretty good this year (his 8.6 Ks/9 are the most he's had since 2006 and his 2.12 K/BB ratio is the best for him since 2005), though, so if the Cubs are really desperate to just dump the guy Milton Bradley-style and willing to assume a huge amount of cash or another bad contract, he might be worth the risk for a team that needs a starter down the stretch.
Even that's a long-shot at this point, but after this weekend it wouldn't be surprising if the Cubs decided they didn't want Zambrano around anymore.
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