Carlos Zambrano Trade Rumors a Reality; Pitcher Would Waive No-Trade Clause

Carlos Zambrano trade rumors are nothing new, and Chicago Cubs fans have to be tired of them at this point. Now though, it seems that he is creating his own rumors, seemingly willing to waive his no-trade clause in an effort to get shipped out of town.

According to ESPN, this is a change of heart from what the Cubs pitcher was saying back in early May. At that points Zambrano had stated, "No, I definitely want to stay here with the Cubs. I don't want to think about a trade right now." That seemed to indicate that he would be around for a long time to come.

Now Zambrano appears much more likely to accept a trade, telling the website on Friday that, "If they come to me and want to trade me, obviously it's because they don't want me here anymore. I'll be here until the Cubs decide to trade me." Well it's not necessarily as easy as Zambrano wanting out and the trades wanting to trade their very vocal player.

Zambrano is a very expensive player who is finishing up the fourth year of his contract for $91.4 million. The final year of that deal will pay him $18 million in 2012, so any other team would really have to feel he has something left to offer. As for how he is performing this season, Zambrano is just 5-4 with a 4.59 ERA. There aren't that many teams that would be willing to take on a pitcher with stats like those for $18 million per season.

The reality is that this will probably boil down to a bunch of grievances being aired out in the press by a disgruntled pitcher. He has not even come close to earning the money in that deal, and maybe there is some part of Zambrano that feels guilty for taking so much money from the franchise. He has been one of the most inconsistent pitchers in baseball since signing the five-year extension, but each year fans hope he will finally come around.

In 2010 he was just 11-6 with a 1.45 WHIPs; one year after he finished 9-7 with a 3.7 ERA and 1.38 WHIP. His best season in wins was in 2007 when he finished with 18, but even then he was still up at 3.95 in his ERA. There was a time when he was considered one of the best pitching prospects in baseball, but it seems those days are in the past. From that stand point, most franchises would be crazy to trade for him unless the Cubs were going to pay a huge chunk of his salary.