Yankees Inquire On Carlos Zambrano

As most of you would assume, the Yankees are still looking for another starting pitcher. Interesting report I saw on mlbtraderumors about the Yankees asking the Cubs the price for Carlos Zambrano. However, according to the NY Post report, the Yankees did not like the asking price. I would imagine the asking price was probably something like Melky/Gardner, Montero, and a pitching prospect. Zambrano has a no-trade claus and is paid a lot of money, and the Cubs are always looking to contend, so I doubt Zambrano is going anywhere.

I think the fact that the Yankees looked into the asking price of someone such as Zambrano is very interesting. The pitchers on the free-agent market are Ben Sheets, Justin Duchscherer, Joel Piniero, and Jason Marquis. So there are plenty of starters who can fill the role of a back end of the rotation guy. But why would the Yankees be looking to make a trade? There has been much speculation about trading Gardner and Cabrera and maybe the Yankees are seeing if they can get a big-time pitcher in return. Honestly, I'd like to see them keep Gardner, because he provides speed off the bench and is useful late in games. He was a tool that the Yankees didn't have in the few years before 2009.

All this is speculation, and many expect the Yankees to acquire a pitcher soon. I still think they ,will sign someone off the free-agent market, but it is interesting that they are checking the price on pitchers like Zambrano. Maybe Cashman surprises us with a big trade. But right now, I'm thinking they will sign a free agent.