Marlins Acquire Carlos Zambrano

Update — 7:30: According to our good buddy Clark Spencer, the Cubs will absorb all of the $18MM owed to Zambrano this season. The Cubs will receive Chris Volstad in the deal. Now this trade appears much less suspicious for the Fish.

6:16: According to Ken Rosenthal over at FOX Sports, the Marlins are in the process of acquiring Carlos Zambrano from the Cubs. The trade is expected to go through, according to Rosenthal, that is assuming Zambrano waives his no-trade clause. We’ve heard rumors swirling regarding the Cubs’ desire to move Zambrano all winter, and to be completely honest, it’s hard to believe they finally found a match given the almost-$40MM that the right-hander is owed over the next two years. Hell, Zambrano isn’t even that good yet he’s getting paid more than any two-win pitcher should ever sniff.

Aside from a hefty pay check, lots of walks and a fair amount of strikeouts, Zambrano also comes with a record of at least one tirade per year over the last four seasons. I guess we can at least assume Zambrano isn’t heading to South Florida to display his leadership qualities. In any case, the fairly large dimensions of New Marlins Ballpark intrigue me, so the homer-prone Zambrano might net some help in that category.

Additionally, his two previous seasons before last both consisted of FIPs south of 4.00, so if he can get back to that he’d be a really decent #4 or #3 starter for the Fish, this is all assuming he can get his K-rate back to the 8.00 range where it’s been most of his career. Lofty expectations for the right-hander, but I’ll give him the benefit of the doubt. Either way, he’ll still be an over-payed volcano but still a viable back-end guy when on the mound.