Schuster: No New News Regarding Zambrano And Trades

By: David Schuster

Carlos Zambrano told a national writer on Friday that he would waive his no trade clause and the national publication reported it as news. Guess what, it wasn't. Not once but twice last season Zambrano said the same thing.

To be fair, Zambrano has repeatedly said that he wants to finish his career here in Chicago but he did tell the local writers that he would waive his no trade clause if the Cubs came to him.

Here's how this will likely play out. As we get closer to the trade deadline (July 31st), G.M. Jim Hendry will survey the situation and see if another team will engage him in discussions about Zambrano. All along the sticking point has been his prohibitive contract which still has another year and a half to go at about $27 million. The likelihood is that Hendry will not find any team that is willing to pick up all that money unless the Cubs offer to eat a big part of it themselves. But should the Cubs find a trading partner (ie: sucker) then Hendry would approach Zambrano and attempt to convince him that this is best for his career. Hendry and Zambrano are very close and have known each other for 14 years. Hendry would have to explain that Zambrano has a much better chance of winning a championship on a current contender then he does waiting around to see if the Cubs can ever get to that point. There would be no offer of extra money or any other incentives. It would simply be playing to Zambrano's competitive spirit.

Will this be enough if Hendry is able to find a trading partner? Stay tuned because the trading deadline is just under 6 weeks away and by then the Cubs could really be out of it. That will actually make Hendry's convincing job easier with his enigmatic right handed pitcher.