Last week, when rumors of a possible Carlos Zambrano trade bubbled over, Chicago Cubs general manager Jim Hendry came forward with his rebuttal: it wasn’t happening. No, not because the Cubs love Zambrano and would never trade him (I still can’t get over the fact that Hendry did not say this); instead, Hendry’s reason? Zambrano has a no-trade clause.
Fair enough, I suppose, as all indications are that Zambrano would invoke that no-trade clause if the Cubs attempted to trade him just about anywhere. Anywhere except… Chicago?
[Zambrano] would invoke his no-trade clause unless it would be to the White Sox, because he wants to stay in Chicago. Baseball Prospectus.
Um, hello. Carlos Zambrano does have a good relationship with White Sox skipper and fellow crazy guy Ozzie Guillen, and perhaps he loves Chicago so much that it’s the only place he’d ever go. That said, it’s hard to imagine Zambrano being too crazy about going to the American League – I don’t think there’s a pitcher in baseball who enjoys batting as much as he does.
Also, there’s probably not too much to get antsy about here anyway: the same BP report noted that the White Sox would be unlikely to actually try and make a move for Zambrano after acquiring Jake Peavy last year.
h/t CCO.