CHICAGO — Carlos Zambrano will be placed on the restricted list and the Chicago Cubs expect to be without the hot-tempered pitcher until at least the All-Star break.
Zambrano, 29, has been suspended by the team without pay for the past three games, after he threw a tirade in the dugout Friday that led to a verbal confrontation with teammate Derrek Lee.
“Beginning Wednesday, Carlos will undergo a treatment program with mutually agreed upon doctors from the players’ association and Major League Baseball,” Cubs General Manager Jim Hendry said Monday. “Basically, he will have to follow the treatment for his issues and be evaluated properly, and if the program is acted on properly in accordance to what the doctors signify he needs to work on and improve on, and follow their directives, Carlos will not be reinstated any time until after theAll-Star break.”
Asked specifically what type of doctor Zambrano would see, Hendry declined to elaborate.
“We’ve obviously had a lot of transgressions with Carlos in the past so I think we all agreed that it was time to go and get help, then address the apologies later,” Hendry said. “It’s an unfortunate situation. His actions were certainly inappropriate, and as I said on Friday, those actions toward his teammates and staff will not be tolerated.”
Hendry said Zambrano and his agent have not asked for the right-hander to be traded or released. Zambrano is in the middle of a $91.5 million, five-year contract extension he signed in August 2007.
Sports, Pages 20 on 06/29/2010