UPDATE 6:37 PM CST: The Cubs will be paying between $15 and $16 million of the $18 million owed to Zambrano, and the deal is pending a physical and approval from the commissioner's office, according to Ken Rosenthal.
UPDATE 6:15 PM CST: Chris Volstad is likely headed to Chicago as a part of the trade, according to Jon Heyman. This makes some sense, as Volstad would be out of a starting job with Zambrano joining the team.
ORIGINAL STORY 4:48 PM CST: The Miami Marlins and Chicago Cubs are close to a deal that would send Carlos Zambrano to Miami, according to FOX Sports' Ken Rosenthal. As Rosenthal notes in a later tweet, Zambrano will need to waive his full no-trade clause in order to be dealt. It seems likely he would, for a chance to play with a manager like Ozzie Guillen.
Zambrano was not with the team for almost the last 2 months after announcing he was "retiring" after being ejected from his start on August 12th. He was subsequently suspended by the team for 30 days, and then told to stay home for the remainder of the season. It remains to be seen what kind of return the Cubs would get for Big Z, but they will probably pay at least some portion of his 2012 salary.
- Twitter / @Ken_Rosenthal: Sources: #Marlins close to acquiring Carlos Zambrano from #Cubs. #MLB
- Twitter / @Ken_Rosenthal: Big Z would need to waive no-trade for #Marlins. Likely would to play for fellow Venezuelan Ozzie Guillen, if he hasn't already. #MLB