With new President of Baseball Operations Theo Epstein essentially overhauling the Chicago Cubs' organization, fans understandably are curious to hear his thoughts on the club's past, present and future. Considering that he's the man essentially making the decisions, his opinions on these matters are pretty close to reflecting the opinions of the organization itself,
Recently, Epstein sat down to discuss some Cubs-related matters with Gail Fischer of CSN Chicago. Among the things discussed was the possibility of a Matt Garza trade, but Epstein simply reiterated his appreciation for Garza as a pitcher:
I'm a big Matt Garza fan. I think he's pretty special. There aren't too many top-of-the-rotation starters in Major League Baseball, let alone ones who can pitch in big markets and in tough divisions, and I think that he's one of them. So, yeah, there's a lot to like about Matt Garza and we appreciate that, and I see him as a big part of what we have now and as a big part of our future.
But even after the praise, Epstein still noted that it's a situation that will need to be resolved somewhat soon.
The reality is that he has two years left on his contract, so at some point it's gonna make sense to try to turn that short-term asset that those two years represent into longer-term assets. That could very well be by reaching a contract extension, either now or next year or when his contract is up. It doesn't have to be through a trade necessarily.
So at this point, it seems like the Cubs are still trying to figure out the best course of action with their top pitcher. And speaking of a guy that was once viewed as Chicago's top pitcher, Epstein also spoke a little about Carlos Zambrano:
In this situation, the deeper I dug, the more I discovered that the [relationship] was probably irreparable, that there had been so many violations of trust, including physical altercations and walking out on the team, things that there's just no place in baseball for.
Ultimately, it seems like Epstein just didn't believe that the Cubs' clubhouse would ever be welcome to Zambrano again. After the numerous bridges that Big Z burned in Chicago over the years, that's probably a conclusion that he shares with many.
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