Carlos Zambrano

One person near the negotiations between Carlos Zambrano and the Cubs for a contract extension said that both sides have agreed to let things "cool down".

But that’s not to say the possibility of a deal has been greatly reduced.  Zambrano and his agent have decided to extend the deadline for completion of the deal "indefinitely".  Originally, the Zambrano camp had placed a deadline at Opening Day, but has since backed off of that given the news that the Cubs parent company, the Tribune Co., will be sold and that the buyer will then sell the Cubs in the offseason.

Both the Cubs, Zambrano and his handlers are saying that they think a deal can still be worked out despite this turn of events.

Tom Goyne is the author of Balls, Sticks, & Stuff, a Phillies-centric site, and maintains the Phloggers’ Pheeds page, a source for the latest commentary from around the "phlogosphere".

You may want to wait just a little longer on that Carlos Zambrano Cubs jersey you were thinking of buying.

Just a few days ago it seemed as if Zambrano and the Cubs were on the verge of finalizing a 5-year $80 million dollar contract extentions.  But those talks are apparently on hold now that the Cubs owner, The Tribune Co., has been sold to Sam Zell, a real estate tycoon, who plans to sell the Cubs in the offseason.

Most felt that 5 yrs/$80 million was a pretty darn good deal for the Cubs.  If it really is, then the new owner may want to let the deal go through as having Zambrano around for the long-term could make the Cubs more attractive to potential buyers.

Tom Goyne is the author of Balls, Sticks, & Stuff, a Phillies-centric site, and maintains the Phloggers’ Pheeds page, a source for the latest commentary from around the "phlogosphere".

According to Ken Rosenthal, the Cubs and Carlos Zambrano are putting the finishing touches on a five-year, $80MM deal.  Zambrano’s 2007 contract would be erased by it, making him a Cub through 2011.

It’s not quite the San Diego discount, but the Cubs have been signing some below-market deals lately.  I guess there’s something about Wrigley Field and Cubs fans.

Surprisingly, PECOTA would only give Zambrano about $52MM over the next five seasons.  I wondered if the trends in Zambrano’s peripherals didn’t sit well with our favorite personified projection system, but it’s actually a workload concern.  BP’s system sees 2007 as the last 200 inning season of his career, noticing shades of Mark Gubicza. 

Gordon Wittenmyer of the Chicago Sun-Times says the Cubs spoke with Carlos Zambrano’s agent yesterday, and they’ll talk more this week regarding a contract extension.  Wittenmyer expects the five-year deal to include the $12.4MM he’s making this year and come in around $75-85MM total.

Pure speculation, but Buster Olney believes the Cubs could announce a Zambrano extension on Opening Day (Monday) to create some positive vibes to start the season.  Olney is thinking five years, $85MM – the top end of Wittenmyer’s range.

At this point, it seems highly unlikely that no agreement is reached by Opening Day.  Sorry, Mets fans.

Carrie Muskat of MLB.com quoted Carlos Zambrano today saying the he was "close."  Apparently, he meant close to signing a contract extension before Opening Day.  This despite Muskat reporting no formal talks between Zambrano’s agent and Cubs GM Jim Hendry lately.

Opening Day is Big Z’s deadline; otherwise he will "wait until after the season when [the Cubs] win the World Series."  That’d be something.  If that happened the Cubs would probably hand him a blank check.

We have 19 days left until the season starts, ample time for Carlos Zambrano and the Cubs to come to an agreement on a five-year contract extension.  According to the Chicago Sun-Times, talks will resume this weekend when Zambrano’s agent returns to Phoenix.

I projected Zambrano at a 3.41 ERA and 1.24 WHIP in my 2007 RotoAuthority Fantasy Guide.  Big Z took quite a tumble yesterday in an attempt to score himself a spring training inside-the-park home run.  Check out the video here.

According to Carlos Zambrano himself, his agents and Jim Hendry will resume talks about a contract extension today by phone.  Gordon Wittenmeyer of the Chicago Sun-Times says the parameters are five years and an AAV between $14.6-18MM.  Makes sense, and I imagine a full no-trade would be in there too.

Zambrano had a lot to say yesterday, promising a Cy Young for himself a World Series title for Chicago.  He later qualified that last one by saying he’s "almost sure." As a Cubs fan, I enjoy the bravado. 

I once attended the 1998 Cubs Convention.  That ended up being a playoff season for the Cubs, their first since 1989.  I had the privilege of meeting Kevin Tapani.  I told him I hoped he’d win 20 games that year (I thus take most of the credit for his career-high 19 wins despite his 4.85 ERA).  Tap told me, "it’d be a great season if that happened."  It was an appropriate response for a past-his-prime battler.  I feel that Zambrano would tell a 15 year-old kid that he’ll win 25 and hit 25 home runs too. 

Tim’s take: Zambrano signs a five-year, $85MM extension with the Cubs before the season begins.

Phil Rogers has an idea – if the Cubs can’t come to an agreement with Carlos Zambrano, they should trade him.  And sooner rather than later.  Personally, I don’t buy into the Bobby Abreu theory – that the Phils were inspired to play better because they traded him for peanuts.  He’d look mighty fine in the Phillies’ lineup this year, and I think Ryan Howard would’ve had the same insane second half with or without him.  Then again, I wasn’t in the Phillies’ clubhouse last summer so who knows.  But I digress.

Rogers thinks Z will get his five or six-year deal from the Cubs.  But he speculates on several possible return packages.  Ervin Santana, Wood/Aybar, and Adenhart/Mathis from the Angels.  Pavano and Sanchez/Clippard from New York.  Pelfrey/Humber, Heilman, and Martinez/Gomez from the Mets.

Given the deals for Jason Jennings and Adam Eaton, Zambrano would certainly command one top-flight young pitcher (Chris Young, Jason Hirsh).  He would also require a second promising but imperfect young position player (Adrian Gonzalez, Willy Taveras).  Then there’d be at least one more wild card piece (Akinori Otsuka, Taylor Buchholz).

So a Santana/Aybar/Mathis package seems fair.  I’m sure some other clubs could assemble something comparable.  In the Mets’ case, Rogers’ selection of players seems too much.  Then again, one season of Zambrano is clearly superior to one of Jennings or Eaton.