Zambrano Ends Terricifc Run, Now Thinking Dunn

Chicago Cubs starting pitcher Carlos Zambrano finished his dominant run to end the season last night, as he won his eighth game since returning to the Cubs in August. After he made his desire known that he will be with the Chicago Cubs next season, he mentioned after last night’s game what he would like to see General Manager Jim Hendry do in the off-season.

“If they want to do something with this team then we need another big hitter to protect [Aramis Ramirez] and [Marlon Byrd],” Zambrano said. “You know which one I’m talking about. I want [Adam Dunn] here. He wants to play for us. Not only this year but two years ago he told me that he wants to play at Wrigley Field badly. When you see a guy who wants to play for an organization and he wants to give everything he has for that organization. That says a lot. I want to see him next year here. If we can’t sign him, then we can sign someone else.” ESPN Chicago

Zambrano must pay attention to the media, because I’m sure he has heard over the past few weeks that the Cubs view Dunn as their top priority. While there is knock on Dunn about his defensive capabilities, he is rated a better defender than Miguel Cabrera and Ryan Howard at first base. Also, the improvement he would bring to the Chicago Cubs offense would astronomical. He would easily be able to hit 40 to 50 home  runs a season for the Chicago Cubs.

Recent reports suggest that Adam Dunn is looking for a 4 year contract worth upwards to about $60MM. That is $15MM per season, but there is a good chance that given Dunn’s strong relationship with Jim Hendry he would likely take $13MM-$14MM to come to the Cubs.