Zambrano Links: Coleman, Dempster, Wells
Following Friday's meltdown against the Braves, Carlos Zambrano cleared out his locker and threatened to retire, leading the Cubs to place him on the disqualified list. The union will file a grievance tomorrow, and Buster Olney of ESPN.com (Insider required) writes that the Cubs may be left with a "thin defense" for their decision. Regardless of the outcome though, Olney thinks the team's actions make it clear that they're done with Big Z's antics, and that the right-hander won't be a Cub by next spring. Here's the latest chatter on the situation:
- The Cubs will call up Casey Coleman to take Zambrano's spot in the rotation, tweets Paul Sullivan of the Chicago Tribune.
- Ryan Dempster tells Gordon Wittenmyer of the Chicago Sun-Times that there's a positive vibe in the clubhouse now, and said of Zambrano, "He's made his bed; he's got to sleep in it."
- With Zambrano likely out of the picture for 2012, Randy Wells' performance down the stretch could affect how much pitching help the Cubs pursue this winter, as Wittenmyer writes in a separate piece.
- Rick Morrissey of the Sun-Times says Zambrano only ever cared about himself, and that the Cubs should have been done with him long ago.
- Ozzie Guillen, a good friend of Zambrano's, said the pitcher "should feel embarrassed, should regret what he said or what he did," according to the Tribune's Dave van Dyck.
- Although a report yesterday suggested Zambrano had moved his belongings back into his locker, Sullivan says that isn't the case, and that Wells has moved his things into the empty locker.
Central Notes: Leyland, Big Z, Brewers, Lindor
Here's the latest from some of baseball's central clubs, as the division-leading Tigers stage a comeback against the O's on the strength of a Miguel Cabrera three-run bomb …
- Tigers manager Jim Leyland, who signed a one-year extension through 2012 on Monday, won't retire even if his club goes deep into the postseason, two sources tell Danny Knobler of CBSSports.com (via Twitter).
- The Cubs knew within two hours of Carlos Zambrano's tirade that he wasn't serious about retiring, and the righty returned his belongings to his locker later that night, according to Buster Olney of ESPN.com (Twitter links). Of course, these are the events that led to Big Z being added to the disqualified list earlier today.
- The Brewers probably won't reach agreement with their first-round picks, Taylor Jungmann and Jed Bradley, before Monday, according to Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel (via Twitter).
- Talks twixt the Indians and first-round pick Francisco Lindor (No. 8 overall) could also come down to the wire on Monday, writes Jordan Bastian of MLB.com. Lindor, a shortstop, is represented by Sportsmeter, LLC, the same agency that brokered supplemental rounder Nick Castellanos' $3.45MM bonus with the Tigers last season, as Bastian notes. That sum was the fifth-highest among last year's first and supplemental rounders.
Cubs Place Carlos Zambrano On Disqualified List
2:56pm: The Cubs have placed Zambrano on the disqualified list, reports Sullivan (all Twitter links). Zambrano can not be with the team for 30 days and will not be paid during that time. MLB and the players' union will use the 30 days to discuss the next step, according to Gordon Wittenmyer of The Chicago Sun-Times (on Twitter).
Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports reports (on Twitter) that the union will file a grievance on Zambrano's behalf, challenging the decision. Praver told Hendry that his client "is not in the retirement mode," and the GM also said he "[feels] badly about action towards Braves." He said saying that throwing at Chipper was "inappropriate."
12:52pm: Hendry and Praver have been discussing the situation and are trying to figure out "what Zambrano was actually thinking," according to Sullivan. If things are not resolved by this afternoon, Sullivan says the Cubs are likely to place the right-hander on the restricted list indefinitely. He has not filed retirement papers.
Zambrano still got paid during last year's stint on the restricted list, but the move will free up a roster spot for the Cubs.
8:34am: Carlos Zambrano gave up five home runs to the Braves in 4 1/3 innings last night, then was ejected after throwing two consecutive inside pitches to Chipper Jones. After the ejection, Zambrano cleared out his locker and told the team trainer that he was retiring, according to Paul Sullivan of The Chicago Tribune (Twitter links).
"We will respect his wishes and honor them and move forward," said GM Jim Hendry, though manager Mike Quade was understandably angry with his right-hander. "I'm really disappointed. His locker is empty. I don't know where he's at. He walked out on 24 guys that are battling their (butts) off for him. I don't know where he's gone or what he's doing. I heard he has retired, or talking about retiring … I can't have a guy walking out on 24 guys, that's for damn sure."
There are a number of reasons to be skeptical about Zambrano's retirement talk. For one, he's always been a behavioral wildcard, but more importantly, there is over $22MM left on his contract, which he'd forfeit by retiring. Zambrano is represented by Barry Praver of Praver Shapiro Sports Management, who will surely try to talk his client out of calling it quits.
The Cubs suspended Zambrano indefinitely following another tirade last June, keeping him on the shelf for a little more than a month. The team also suspended Milton Bradley for "conduct detrimental to the team" in September 2009, forcing him to sit out the rest of the year before trading him in the offseason. It seems unlikely that Zambrano will follow through on his retirement talk, but the Cubs could be so tired of his act that they'll trade him this winter no matter what the cost, similar to what they did with Bradley.
Zambrano, 30, owns a 4.82 ERA with career lows in strikeout (6.2 K/9) and ground ball (42.4%) rate this season. He is owed just over $4MM for the remainder of 2011 plus $18MM in 2012. A $19.25MM vesting option for 2014 based on Cy Young Award finishes is unlikely to kick in. Zambrano also has a full no-trade clause in his contract, but that didn't stop the Cubs from trying to unload him before the trade deadline.
Zambrano, Farnsworth Placed On Waivers
The Cubs' Carlos Zambrano and the Rays' Kyle Farnsworth were among the players placed on waivers yesterday, according to MLB.com's Peter Gammons (via Twitter). Teams have 48 business hours to make a claim on either player, giving them until Tuesday. This news doesn't necessarily mean that the Cubs and Rays are looking to deal Zambrano and Farnsworth, respectively. Hundreds of players are expected to hit the waiver wire in the month of August.
Earlier this week, both players were identified as August trade candidates by MLBTR's Tim Dierkes.
Red Sox Rumors: Vargas, Harden, Buchholz, Bedard
The latest on the Red Sox…
- The Mariners are offering Jason Vargas to the Red Sox, according to Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe, who hears that the Red Sox are all over the map in trade discussions. Don’t expect Derek Lowe to return to Boston and don’t expect Carlos Zambrano to become a trade target, but Aaron Harang and Jeremy Guthrie are possibilities for GM Theo Epstein.
- The Red Sox and Yankees scouted Rich Harden in Oakland today, according to Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports (on Twitter).
- A source familiar with Clay Buchholz's back injury tells WEEI's Alex Speier the Red Sox are "'very concerned' that the issue is not muscular, but instead could involve a structural issue such as a bone." Speier says the Sox are "monitoring the starting pitcher market broadly," because of Buchholz as well as concern with current members of the rotation.
- The Red Sox are "all over" Mariners lefty Erik Bedard, report Ken Rosenthal and Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports, and they'll be among the many teams scouting him against the Rays tomorrow night. They note that the Mariners had two scouts watching Boston's Double-A club on Wednesday and one watching their Triple-A affiliate.
- Though the Sox continue to look for starting pitchers, CBS Sports' Danny Knobler tweets that they're telling teams the focus is now a right-handed hitting outfielder. He notes that they would "almost certainly" try for White Sox right fielder Carlos Quentin, if Chicago makes him available.
Quick Hits: Blue Jays, Beltran, Astros, Zambrano
Congratulations to Ervin Santana, who threw the third no-hitter of the season this afternoon. Santana joins Francisco Liriano and Justin Verlander on this year’s list of pitchers to author a no-no. Here are the latest links from around MLB…
- Blue Jays GM Alex Anthopoulos says he's likely done making trades, according to Richard Griffin of the Toronto Star (on Twitter). The GM will continue monitoring the trade market in case something comes up, but his work might be done.
- The Rangers offered a group of "OK" prospects for Carlos Beltran and Philadelphia's offer was even weaker, according to Jon Heyman of SI.com (on Twitter). San Francisco eventually acquired Beltran.
- The Astros are stepping up their efforts to trade Wandy Rodriguez, Brett Myers and Michael Bourn, according to Jon Heyman of SI.com (on Twitter).
- Carlos Zambrano told reporters, including Paul Sullivan of the Chicago Tribune, that he wants to stay in Chicago as long as there is "change" (Twitter link). The right-hander, who is available in trades, did not specify what kind of change he's looking for.
- Joe Strauss of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch hears that the Reds have serious misgivings about making an all-in move to save their season (Twitter link). After tonight's loss, Cincinnati is 50-54.
Cubs Trying To Unload Zambrano
2:14pm: The Cubs called the Yankees about Zambrano, tweets Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports, but the Yankees have no interest.
1:52pm: The Cubs are "trying to nudge the Yankees into taking Carlos Zambrano, offering up money to offset his salary," tweets ESPN's Buster Olney. The Cubs are offering to pay big bucks on Zambrano or Alfonso Soriano in general, tweeted SI's Jon Heyman earlier.
In June, Zambrano told Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports he'd waive his no-trade clause if the Cubs asked. After the deadline he'll be owed $23.8MM through 2012, and that's the bigger issue given hs middling performance. In my opinion, the Cubs would have to send about $14MM to make Zambrano's contract palatable, as that'd make him the equivalent of a $5MM a year pitcher.
Quick Hits: Yankees, Riggleman, Fernandez, Orioles
Congratulations to Derek Jeter on career hit No. 3,000. Here are some Quick Hits for Saturday afternoon..
- ESPN's Buster Olney says that rumors are swirling about a managerial change for the White Sox, but a high-ranking source says a change is not being considered and Ozzie Guillen is safe (Twitter link). The ChiSox won today, but had lost four in a row and five of six before that.
- Alex Rodriguez may need knee surgery that could keep him out a month, and Joel Sherman of The New York Post hears that the Yankees will consider outside options to fill in at third base (Twitter link). Their first choice is to use in-house candidates Eduardo Nunez and Brandon Laird.
- MLB.com's Bill Ladson reports that Jim Riggleman has a job interview for an unknown position with the Giants next week. Riggleman resigned as Nationals manager last month.
- The Marlins are not close to signing first-round pick Jose Fernandez, writes Joe Capozzi of the Palm Beach Post. The 14th overall selection is seeking a deal close to $4MM while the Fish offered just $1.6MM.
- The Orioles are confident that they will be able to sign top pick pitcher Dylan Bundy, but they also expect that negotiations will go down to the mid-August deadline, writes Steve Melewski of MASNSports.com.
- The Cubs are likely to pass on requests for starting pitchers Ryan Dempster, Carlos Zambrano and Matt Garza, writes Gordon Wittenmyer of the Chicago Sun-Times.
- We learned yesterday that Brian Gordon is Korea-bound, and now there are rumblings that Chris Bootcheck is as well, tweets Patrick Newman of NPBTracker.com.
Cubs To Determine Deadline Approach
Members of the Cubs' front office will meet early next week to determine their approach for this summer’s trade deadline, according to Bruce Levine of ESPNChicago.com. The team intends to pursue top prospects and young players, but the details have yet to be determined, according to Levine.
It appears likely that the 30-44 Cubs will become sellers, in which case some pricey veterans could become trade bait. Aramis Ramirez won’t be one of them, since he won’t approve a trade, but Carlos Zambrano, Alfonso Soriano and Kosuke Fukudome may find themselves on the trade market. Zambrano and Soriano have said they wouldn’t block trades.
GM Jim Hendry and assistant GM Randy Bush will direct top Cubs scouts during the meetings. Hendry will advise the scouts to monitor the clubs he believes match up best as possible trade partners for Chicago.
Quick Hits: Kazmir, McKeon, Indians, Gonzalez
Some quick hits as we take in a full slate of games today..
- The Pirates have checked into Scott Kazmir, but GM Neal Huntington did not indicate whether the discussions are ongoing or if it's moot issue, tweets Rob Biertempfel of MLB.com.
- If asked, 80-year-old Jack McKeon says that he's capable of taking over the Marlins managerial job on an interim basis, tweets Alden Gonzalez of MLB.com.
- The Indians have fired hitting coach Jon Nunnally and will replace him with Bruce Fields, tweets Danny Knobler of CBSSports.com.
- The Cardinals scouted left-hander Scott Kazmir but they do not have interest in pursuing him, a club source told Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. While several teams have denied interest in the former All-Star, we learned yesterday that the Mets will consider him.
- Alex Speier of WEEI.com looks back at the long-term deal that Adrian Gonzalez signed with the Padres and how it ultimately affected his future with the Red Sox.
- In response to a question, Ken Davidoff of Newsday (via Twitter) said that Carlos Zambrano is unlikely for the Yankees.
- Baseball's international signing period is quickly becoming one of the most important dates on the calendar for many big league teams, writes Kevin Baxter of the Los Angeles Times. The international signing period begins July 2nd.