After we passed along the news Friday that Carlos Zambrano had signed a five-year extension with the Cubs, we tried to analyze the impact of the deal. Was it fair value, was it good for the sale of the team? Personally, I was ecstatic when I heard the financial terms of the contract; it's cheaper than the one Barry Zito signed over the Winter, indicating to me a declining, more affordable market. But Andrew at True Blue LA explains to us why the signing might not be such a good thing. With Zambrano off the market, the starting pitching market this offseason is empty. If you assume that teams are going to activate the options on their good pitchers, the best available pitchers this offseason are Tom Glavine and Curt Schilling. When the free agent class is lead by two quadragenerians, it's a very, very bad sign. After those two pitchers, you have some pitchers that you've heard of, but aren't any good like Bartolo Colon and Freddy Garcia, and then you get into the Odalis Perez/Joe Kennedy quality of pitcher.Yikes! I wouldn't want to give more than a one-year deal to any of those arms. That also helps explain why there weren't too many deals made at the deadline -- there's an increased premium on homegrown talent since the free agent market doesn't have much to offer. That's also why I'm surprised the Red Sox traded away Kason Gabbard. But hey, when you're trying to win a World Series title, you have to go all out. So like I said, your pitching suck? It's probably not getting better next year, unless your farm system is locked and loaded.
Previously at FanHouse:
Carlos Zambrano Signs 5-Year Extension
Reacting to Carlos Zambrano
Zambrano Signing Bad for Tribune?
