According to Jerry Crasnick of ESPN.com, the Marlins were “absolutely, positively convinced” that Javier Vazquez was retiring before agreeing to trade for Carlos Zambrano.
Vazquez finished 2011 with a 1.92 ERA and 115/19 K/BB ratio over 126 2/3 innings in his final 19 starts, but he said right after the season that he was leaning toward retirement. The Marlins were hoping to convince him otherwise, but switching gears and taking a risk on Zambrano would seem to indicate that he’s going to call it a career. The 35-year-old right-hander has a 4.22 ERA and 165 wins over 14 seasons in the big leagues.
Source: twitter.com