Carlos Zambrano Needed New Home

The right move for the Cubs and a chance worth taking for the Marlins. That’s how I read the Chicago Cubs shipping right-handed pitcher Carlos Zambrano to Miami for Chris Volstad (though it could have been anybody with a pulse as far as the Cubs were concerned.)

Carlos had to go after his series of mind-bending tantrums on the mound, in the dugout, in the clubhouse. He did everything from smashing a Gatorade container with a bat to getting into frequent umpire arguments, at one point enduring a six-game Major League suspension, and concluding last season with a month-long Cubs suspension. Most of these performances were without provocation, good cause, or rational expection, so if I am Miami manager Ozzie Guillen I am hoping that Zambrano packs his medication when he comes to spring training, as well as his 95 mph fastball.

Behavior aside, the 6-foot-5, 260-pound Zambrano has at times been one of the premier pitchers in the National League. His career record in 11 seasons is 125-81. He won between 13 and 18 games six times and made three All-Star teams. In September of 2008, Zambrano threw a no-hitter against the Houston Astros.

If Zambrano, who is still only 30, harnesses his attitude and channels his energy he could still be the equivalent of a No. 1 starter for the Marlins. At his best, Zambrano was very, very good for the Cubs and there are reports that the native Venezuelan has been throwing very well in Winter League ball in his home country lately. If anyone can communicate with Zambrano and coax good results from him it figures to be Guillen, the first-year manager of the Marlins.

Not only was Guillen in Chicago, albeit cross-town, at the same time as Zambrano, with an understanding of the local baseball landscape, but he is also from Venezuela. Does that mean Guillen is a psychatrist? No. But his common ground with Zambrano can’t hurt. And Zambrano should be supremely motivated when he reports to the Marlins for spring training. He has to know that this is his last chance.

Zambrano will be paid $18 million this season, but the payday represents the final year on his contract. If he wants to continue playing in the majors he has to know he must prove that he can still be a front-line contributor. To say there are skeptics out there is a grand understatement on the order of suggesting Mitt Romney has a casual interest in the presidency.

The market was apparently so minimal for Zambrano’s services that the Cubs had to agree to pay $15 million of Zambrano’s salary in 2012, with the Marlins picking up just $3 of what he will be owed. Given that both teams are both in the National League, it should be worth watching if Zambrano pitches against his old teammates one or more times this coming summer.

Volstad, who at 6-8 is even bigger than Big Z, has had two winning records in four Major League seasons with the Marlins. His best year was a 12-9 2010. At 25 he is young enough to hint at a tantalizing upside. But it’s unclear if the Cubs really expect much of anything from Volstad, or if their reward is just knowing that Zambrano will wear a different uniform and is not their headache any more.