It seems that Jim Hendry and the Cubs are intent on doing everything within their power to move Milton Bradley this winter. This reminds me of the offseason that Hendry spent trying to trade Sammy Sosa. Eventually, he did, of course, but in the process ignored other Cubs needs.
I don't think that this is so much of a concern this winter because, quite frankly, there isn't a whole lot that Hendry can do. Given all the expensive, long-term contracts that are untradeable, Hendry has basically tied his own hands. Maybe he's a masochist.
Meanwhile, Tom Ricketts told David Kaplan of WGN radio that there will be a slight increase in payroll, but no big contracts will be coming to town. Notice that he didn't say no free agents , and I think that was deliberate because he will not allow Hendry to take on another long-term contract just to move Bradley.
That's why I don't believe the latest Bradley-for-Vernon Wells swap rumor that has the Internet abuzz. For one thing, Bradley is a better offensive player than Wells, especially if you go by Wells's performance since signing that huge contract in 2007.
Speaking of that contract, according to Cot's Baseball Contracts , Wells is owed $98.5 million over the next five years, plus the 2010 portion of his signing bonus that is being paid for in installments.
In 2009, Wells had a slash of .260/.311/.400/.711. He has a career OBP of only .329. I don't want him and I doubt that Hendry does, either.
There has apparently been plenty of interest from teams in at least kicking the tires on obtaining Bradley. For one thing, they smell blood. They know that Hendry is desperate and they feel they can obtain his services without having to pay most of his remaining contract.
For another, many teams feel that if Bradley is removed from the glare of the media spotlight, he will return to the form that made him attractive to Hendry in the first place. In Texas in 2008, Bradley hit 20+ homers and led the league in OBP.
Don't expect the new owners to approve a strict salary dump here. Although it may have been said jokingly, during the press conference, Todd Ricketts said that "I'm sure he (Jim Hendry) knows not to do that," when referring to eating Bradley's contract.
Ken Rosenthal of Fox Sports said the Giants, Padres, Rangers, Rays, and Mets "are among the clubs with possible interest." While Rosenthal's information should always be taken with a healthy amount of salt, there does appear to be a lot of chatter regarding Bradley.
Look, no Cubs player performed poorly just because of the dumb things that Bradley said to the media. But it does seem that he has worn out his welcome in Chicago.
Here's hoping that Hendry doesn't think that offloading Bradley is a panacea for all that ails the team.
In fact, after some thought, I really don't think it would be the worst thing in the world if Bradley remains a Cub for 2010. Some rules would have to be made clear to him, and he would be kept on a short leash, but solid play will cure all ills, in my opinion.
I don't think that will happen, however. In any event, the Cubs aren't going to win next year just by trading Bradley. Let's just hope that we don't get another problem in return, come to think of it.
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