For the briefest of moments today, the Cublogoverse was gripped by the following rumor:
With his everyday lineup for 2010 set, Cashman has turned attention to the rotation, and will almost certainly add a starter by New Year’s, according to a major league source.
Cashman is believed to have inquired about Carlos Zambrano, but with the Cubs’ asking price high for the 28-year-old right-hander — who is coming off an injury-plagued 2009 — it’s more probable the Yankees will go the free-agent route. NYPOST.com.
Trading Carlos Zambrano would leave the Cubs with the enviable prospect of starting the season with a rotation that features Ryan Dempster (that’s ok), Randy Wells (hope it wasn’t a fluke), Carlos Silva (oh sweet, merciful Jesus no), and Hall and Oates (you make my dreams come true).
So clearly, the Cubs are totally considering it, right? Child, please.
Bruce Miles quickly dropped the knowledge:
For the record, Z’s agent, Barry Praver (who is always accessible), sent me an e-mail saying: “Jim (Cubs GM Hendry) has not approached us about Carlos waiving the no-trade provision of his contract nor is Carlos interested in waiving it.”
This, of course, doesn’t necessarily mean the rumor is untrue. It wouldn’t be particularly shocking to learn that the Yankees, looking for a front-end starting pitcher, had inquired about the availability of Carlos Zambrano. What would have been shocking would be to learn that the Cubs gave the matter serious consideration.