The Cubs have dealt 30-year old righty starting pitcher Carlos Zambrano and $15 million bucks to the Marlins for Chris Volstad. Zambrano pitched in 24 games (all starts) for the Cubs last year and he was 9-7 with a 4.82 ERA and a 1.44 WHIP. He pitched in 319 games (282 starts) in his 11 years with the Cubs and he was 125-81 with a 3.60 ERA and a 1.32 WHIP. Zambrano was also a good hitter for the Cubs as he was 159 of 659 (.241 avg, .646 OPS) with 72 runs scored, 23 homers, 69 RBIs and 1 stolen base. Big Z made it to 3 All-Star Games and he won 3 Silver Slugger Awards with the Cubs. He also finishes his career with the Cubs #2 in franchise history in strikeouts (1,542) and #8 in games started with 282. Chris Volstad will replace Zambrano in the starting rotation and this deal also saves the Cubs $3 million bucks for the 2012 season. Volstad pitched in 29 games (all starts) for the Marlins last year and he was 5-13 with a 4.89 ERA and a 1.43 WHIP. He has now pitched in 103 games (102 starts) in his first four years in the majors and he is 32-39 with a 4.59 ERA and a 1.41 WHIP. This was a good deal for the Cubs as they actually got a decent pitcher back for Zambrano.

The Cubs have signed 29-year old righty swinging outfiedler Joe Mather to a minor league deal. Mather played in 36 games for the Braves last year and he was 16 of 75 (.213 avg, .578 OPS) with 4 runs scored, 1 homer and 9 RBIs. He has now played in 126 games in his first three years in the majors and he is 61 of 268 (.228 avg, .667 OPS) with 31 runs scored, 9 homers, 30 RBIs and 2 stolen bases. Mather will get a shot to win a job on the Cubs’ bench this spring.