Carlos Zambrano Out for the Season
Carl Zambrano will not return for the Chicago Cubs this season but the team resume paying the pitcher’s salary after his 30-day suspension ends Sept. 11. Zambrano will not return to the team because there is “insufficient preparation time” for him to pitch again this season.
Zambrano’s last run-in with the Cubs was on Aug. 12 when the pitcher gave up five homers against the Braves and was ejected for throwing at Chipper Jones. Zambrano cleaned out his locker and left the park before the game was over, saying he was retiring.
The pitcher intended to return to the ballpark the next day, but the Cubs placed Zambrano on the disqualified list, which resulted in suspension without pay and kept him away from all team activities for 30 days.
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The players’ union filed a grievance, which will be processed during the offseason, by the Major League Baseball, the union and the Cubs.
“It was a disappointing situation and we’ll let things take their course now,” manager Mike Quade said Friday before a game against the Pittsburgh Pirates at Wrigley Field.
“That’s it, let’s see where the grievance situation goes. They’ve made decisions and that’s where we’re at now."
Last season, Zambrano was placed on a restrict list after having a meltdown during a game against the White Sox. The pitcher got into a shouting match with then-teammate Derrek Lee, whom Zambrano blamed for poor defense. Zambrano was suspended for six weeks and underwent anger management counseling before returning to the team.
The pitcher is still due $18 million in 2012, the final year of his five-year, $91.5 million contract, signed in Aug. 2007.
Zambrano was signed by the Cubs as a free agent in 1997 and made his debut in the ballpark in 2001. He has spent his entire career with the team and is a three-time All-Star, but his 11-year-career with the Cubs has been filed with controversy.
In 2007, Zambrano got into a fight with a teammate in the dugout and then in the locker room. The pitcher was suspended six games by the MLB in 2009 for throwing a baseball into the outfield, slamming his glove against the dugout fence and throwing a tantrum.
