SB Nation - Milton Bradley

MLB Trade Rumors: Carlos Zambrano to the Yankees??

raygu — Tue, 22 Dec 2009 14:00:27 -0000

2 months ago: Chicago Cubs starter Carlos Zambrano delivers a pitch against the Pittsburgh Pirates in the first inning during a baseball game at Wrigley Field in Chicago, Wednesday, Sept. 30, 2009. (AP Photo/Paul Beaty)

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Last night ESPN's Buster Olney tweeted that the Yankees were closing in on a trade for a starting pitcher:

Heard this: Yankees working very hard tonight on deal for starting pitcher. Remember that they came close to deal for Aaron Harang in summer

The Harang rumor was shot down by Mark Feinsand from the New York Daily News:

Yankees are apparently close to a deal for a starting pitcher, says a source. Still working on who, but I'm told it's not a salary dump deal

If its not a salary dump, that could rule out the Reds Aaron Harang and the Braves Derek Lowe. How about the Cubs Carlos Zambrano? While driving into work yesterday, Holden Cushner and Jom Bowden were talking about the Yankees interest in Zambrano and mentioned that the Cubs had interest in Brett Gardner to play CF (another good speed, good D, no power outfielder).

The Cubs MLB.com beat reporter Carrie Muskat posted the following on her blog yesterday:

According to a story in the New York Post, GM Brian Cashman asked Jim Hendry about possibly acquiring Carlos Zambrano but the Yankees did not like the asking price. Zambrano, who has a full no-trade clause, is owed $53.75 million over the next three years. Another report says the Yankees did not even inquire about Zambrano.

What is certain is that Hendry never asked Zambrano's agent, Barry Praver, about whether the pitcher would waive the no-trade clause to go to New York. Praver said Monday that Zambrano is not interested in doing so.

I am sure Jim Hendry asked for the moon to try to make up for his signing of Milton Bradley last offseason. We all know how that turned out. Hendry recently dealt Bradley to the Mariners and took on Carlos Silva's bad contract in return. Could Hendry revisit the Yankees trde proposal for Big Z now that he had to take on Silva's contract and is still looking for a centerfielder?

I think it is very possible. I think Big Z reconsiders and waives his no-trade clause to get traded to the Yankees. He would have a great chance at finally winning a World Series also. Plus, the Yankees have to answer the Red Sox signing of John Lackey last week with a big name. Big Z is a big name.

Update (10:00 am) tweet from Joel Sherman:

so the trade is vazquez and boone logan to #Yankees for melky cabrera, mike dunn and arodys vizcaino, that is now confirmed by Post

Poll

What pitcher should the Yankees deal for?

A Milton Bradley PSA

Matthew — Mon, 21 Dec 2009 01:37:15 -0000

Dear fans of Milton Bradley's former teams,

It may come as a shock to you, but we up here in Seattle are aware of Milton Bradley's past behaviors. I know Seattle seems isolated from the rest of the country, but we have this interweb thingy that keeps us quite informed whilst we stay indoors from all the rain. Also he played for two of our divisional rivals so we've had some experience seeing him. We understand. Really. He's a malcontent. He's violent, explosive, unstable, unhinged, arrogant, pick your adjectives of choice.

We get it.

We know. We already knew. We knew two years ago too when we wanted to sign him then. It's part of the risk of Milton Bradley and we know that risk exists. If it didn't, Bradley would be one of baseball's stars, and one of its most-hyped given his hitting prowess and a lack of Black role models in baseball of late.

We get it.

It would be one thing if Seattle's postseason hopes hinged on Milton Bradley staying healthy and level-headed. If that were true, we would be a lot more cautious about this. But they do not. Realistically, Bradley pencils in as a 1-2 win improvement at DH over what we currently had. Milton Bradley is not the lynch pin on which our entire season rides. He is merely a possible high-upside addition. A guy who could explode for 4 WAR as he did in 2008. We welcome his arrival based on that potential, the positional flexibility he provides as a fill-in outfielder and his switch-hitting.

We get it.

We're not expecting Bradley to reform himself and become a model clubhouse citizen. We have merely pointed out that Seattle might be such an environment where Bradley might find himself comfortable in. We're pretty low-key up here and we have a good support staff in place in the coaches and even fellow Black teammates. Pointing out that Bradley might not be a total nutcase in Seattle does not mean we expect it to happen. Just as pointing out that he has high upside as a hitter doesn't mean we're going out and buying playoff tickets. Please stop confusing the acknowledgment of a possibility with asserting that it is the most probable outcome.

We get it.

We'd also understand a little more if we were, say, gaining Milton Bradley on a 2Y/$30 million contract. There would be a lot more discussion about his attitude and likely playing time issues if that were the case. Milton Bradley did not arrive here in a vacuum though. Pardon me for the assumption, but you know how much you seem to hate Milton Bradley? We hated Carlos Silva similarly and no more how jaded you are, you have to admit that Milton Bradley has more upside as a productive player than Carlos Silva. That's all we are caring about right now.

So If you want to feel better about yourself by coming here and trying to enlighten us all about the dangers of Milton Bradley, please keep one thing in mind and go find somewhere else:

We get it.

Hugs and Kisses,
Matthew Carruth

The Sunday Funnies: Merry Solstice, Or The Ghosts Of Cubs Past

Al — Sun, 20 Dec 2009 23:00:19 -0000

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Sunday Notes

DanUpBaby — Sun, 20 Dec 2009 11:00:23 -0000

I'm still out of town, but the Cardinals wait for no man. Some faux bullet points:

Joe Thurston is gone; long live Joe Thurston. I don't think I was more wrong about any one player in 2009 than I was about Joe Thurston, who seemed perfectly positioned to earn too much credit and an undue share of fan appreciation as the speedy, slap-happy utility infielder who got off to a hot start. Glaus's absence and Freese and Barden's ugly starts meant he'd lost his chance at being Skip Schumaker's capable second base foil and had to play, instead--almost from the very beginning--as an overexposed, iron-handed third baseman.

But even that might have worked out for him if he hadn't been, and I don't think I'm exaggerating, here, the worst fast baserunner I've ever seen. How bad was he? In limited time, and despite his four regular season triples, he made one out more than Yadier Molina managed on the basepaths. By all accounts an intelligent, hard-working player, he has somehow been worth -12 bases in his brief Major League career, and even that seems like a conservative account of the trouble he had finding and staying on top of the bases.

Thurston's agent says he wanted to remain a Cardinal, but had to "strike when the iron was hot"; but I don't think it was ever a question. Now he's got a new chance to be a fanbase's favorite Scrappy Hustler, and I, for one, promise not to tell any Braves fans about his surprising limitations. I can only hope that a Braves coach takes him aside, just after position players report, and says: If you stand on those bases, they aren't allowed to tag you out.

As for real third basemen, Scott Rolen will be a Red through 2012. This is an interesting deal on both sides; the Reds open up a little payroll in the short term, reducing his 2010 tab from $11 million to $6, but get $6.5 million years for 2011 and 2012. Rolen will be 37 by the end of the deal, which is a little risky, but even with his power sapped and his shoulder in pieces he's been a valuable commodity.

Honestly, I'm not sure what's in it for him, unless he really likes Cincinnati; coming off his best offensive season since 2006, he already had an $11 million payday due him this year and could have been a free agent in what will presumably be a better market for players. His signing bonus--$5 million, deferred over the life of the contract without interest--means that he's basically signed a two year deal worth $11 million, starting in 2011.

Rolen recently made a surprise appearance near the top of Rob Neyer's list of top 100 players of the decade, fittingly right next to fellow MV3 alum Jim Edmonds. There's a Jack Morris-y aspect to the whole thing, because of course it helps that Rolen began his peak almost exactly at the dawn of the decade, but hopefully Rolen's long, intermittently superb coda won't detract from his brilliant run from 2000-2004, a Hall of Fame peak if there ever was one.

Finally, I think it's safe to say that the Cubs lost their trade of organizational headcases with Seattle, and lost it handily; dumping Bradley is one thing, and there is something to be said for trading a guy who the Cubs seem absolutely determined not to play for $6 million of salary relief, which can be used on--well, somebody. But Carlos Silva isn't just a bad pitcher; he's also the guy who whined in public about Ichiro!, the only baseball player whose last name has legally been Microsoft Word search+replaced into an exclamation point and the only bright spot on that last nightmarish Bill Bavasi team, filled to the brim with such luminaries as... Carlos Silva.

Lounging around on a sinking ship, whining at the people who are bailing out water--that is, you'll recall, more or less exactly what got Milton Bradley shipped out of Chicago. And Silva has battled weight problems throughout his career, so he might be even more of a hindrance to their metaphorical seaworthiness.

Some Let's-Take-A-Deep-Breath Analysis Of The Bradley-Silva Deal

Al — Sat, 19 Dec 2009 14:00:18 -0000

More photos » by Ted S. Warren - AP

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Now that you've all had a day to express disgust, outrage, "FIREHENDRYNOW", etc. over the trade of Milton Bradley to the Mariners for Carlos Silva, let's examine how this really will affect the 2010 Cubs on the field.

We don't have to rehash the reasons that Bradley had to be moved, but it was clear after he was sent home in September that he would be, no matter what. And when that happened, it was also clear that what the Cubs would get back wasn't going to be much -- likely someone else's bad contract. And that is precisely what we got.

All of you here know that I was against the signing from the beginning -- but I'm not going to say "told you so" here, because even I never imagined that Milton would melt down in the way he would. Let's just say he was never a good fit for the high-profile team that is the Chicago Cubs, and Jim Hendry should have known that. Hendry took responsibility for the entire debacle, and you can bet that Tom Ricketts will have him on a pretty short leash for the rest of this offseason and 2010. If the Cubs don't return to the playoffs in 2010, I'd expect Hendry to be fired, and that firing would be justified. Until then, I do think Hendry deserves a chance to clean up the mess that he made.

So what, really, do we now have here? There has been some dispute over exactly how much financial relief the Cubs got in this deal, but according to this cubs.com article, it's $6 million. This article has the same number. So until I hear different, that's the assumption I'm going on for this post.

Let's not pretend this deal is something it isn't. In December 2009, in a vacuum, there is no way any team deals for or signs Carlos Silva, based on his performance the last two years. He's been horrific. And that might be an insult to horrific players. I'll cut Silva some slack for 2009, as he was hurt most of the year. Could be, that contributed to his poor performance in 2008 also; maybe he was hurt then and didn't tell anyone.

Silva has had, since 2004 when he became a rotation starter for the Twins, at least three seasons where his performance would have made him a capable fifth starter for most teams. In 2005, in 27 starts, he put up an ERA+ of 126 and a 1.17 WHIP. In 2007, the year that got him the four-year deal from the Mariners in free agency, he had a 102 ERA+ and 1.31 WHIP; those numbers, along with a 4.19 ERA, aren't too different from what the Cubs got from Jason Marquis in 2007 and 2008.

Can Silva do this again? The answer is, we simply do not know until we see him pitch. The Cubs claim they have good reports on him from Venezuela:

The Cubs have had scouts watching Silva in Venezuela. He has appeared in four games, striking out two and walking three over nine innings. The club will send its strength and conditioning staff down there to get Silva on a program. The right-hander did report to camp this year 30 pounds lighter.

"We'll do everything we can to get him as close to back where he was a few years ago," Hendry said.

There's no doubt that he needs to lose weight -- just look at the photo at the top of this post, which was taken April 14, 2009. Get the guy in shape, bring him to camp, and see what he can do. There were some here who thought the Cubs should just release Milton Bradley and eat the $21 million on his deal. If Silva really can't pitch any more, he could be released -- but the Cubs would only eat $15 million. Even trading for Pat Burrell would have made the Cubs eat $13 million (because the Rays weren't likely going to take any of Bradley's 2011 salary), and Burrell would have been a very expensive pinch-hitter.

At his best, Silva was a decent ground-ball pitcher who didn't walk anyone. There have been pitchers like him who have come from the AL to the NL and had success -- Bronson Arroyo, for one, or even Glendon Rusch, who had one decent year for the Cubs (2004) as a long reliever/spot starter. There were some links passed around here yesterday -- helpfully combined by Harry Pavlidis -- that indicate that Silva is a very intense player who has on occasion called out his teammates in public for not performing. Clearly, this isn't a good thing, and the only thing I can hope for is that the Cubs clear the air on this right away.

Again, this is obviously not a player you would have chosen to add to your team in a perfect world. The Milton Bradley situation was about as far from "perfect world" as you could get. The $6 million in salary relief, we hope, will allow Jim Hendry to add some help in CF (hey, how about a Ryan Church/Reed Johnson platoon?), or another starting pitcher (paging Joel Pineiro!), or a reliever like Matt Capps.

About Bradley, this portion of Paul Sullivan's article sums him up:

Bradley referred to himself as a "quiet" guy, and said people who criticize him or athletes in general are trying to make names for themselves.

"Pretty much for me, anybody deep down on the inside, looking out or looking in, you understand how PR works and media works, and how people are promoted, and how you have a bad guy and you can have a good guy," he said. "And that's just the way it is. And so I'm portrayed as however I am. It just adds to the mystique, I guess."

Yep, Milton, sure. It's always everyone's fault but yours. Bruce Miles calls you "unrepentant" and I am 100% agreed. For me, this statement by Ryan Dempster sums up the Bradley "era" in Chicago:

"It's unfortunate," Cubs pitcher Ryan Dempster said in September after Bradley was suspended. "At the end of the day, he was provided a great opportunity to come over here and be a part of a really great organization with a lot of really good guys, and it just didn't seem to make him happy, anything."

Somehow, I doubt he'll be happy in Seattle, either, but for now, I'm going to put the pitchforks down and reserve judgment till I see what else Hendry does this offseason. Let's the rest of us try to do that, too. Finally, don't forget to vote in the poll I posted on the right sidebar, if you haven't already, about this deal.

A Brief History Of Mariners With Clubhouse Concerns

Jeff — Fri, 18 Dec 2009 23:06:39 -0000

Ken Griffey Jr.: Remember the stories going around back before he was traded a decade ago? Junior, from the sounds of things, got to be a real pain. Then time passed, he aged by ten years, his career aged by fifty, and he became arguably one of the best clubhouse influences in the world.

Miguel Batista: Issues developed as a Mariner, and he never quite fit in, particularly with the 2009 team. Had no negative impact, at least off the field.

Carlos Silva: Issues developed shortly before becoming a Mariner and carried over into 2008. Appeared to have been a factor in the clubhouse mess that year, but he wasn't the biggest one, and once the team got a complete overhaul, it seemed like he didn't do anything but kiss people.

Ichiro: Ichiro kind of always did his own thing and never quite fit in from the beginning. Like everything else, his habits because a source of some resentment and frustration in 2008, but the team has been able to win with him, and 2009 saw him become a different person around his teammates through Griffey's influence.

Carl Everett: Brought in more for his fire than for his bat, Everett provided little fire, less bat, and was gone by July with nary a whimper.

Jose Guillen: Perhaps the most batshit player the Mariners have ever had, Guillen's influence on the 2007 clubhouse was considered by most parties involved to be nothing but positive, and he was very nearly brought back. Biggest controversy was his support of playing veterans over young guys down the stretch, but that was not a sentiment unique to Guillen.

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To be sure, the Mariners have never had a guy quite like Milton Bradley. His personality seems to be among the most volatile in the league. But what we've been able to observe in the past is that, sure enough, clubhouse issues tend to be at their most negative when you're losing and at their most positive when you're winning, and the 2010 Seattle Mariners are being built to win, and win a lot. That's what Bradley wants. He wants to play on a good team. One should note that he has been on playoff teams before, so it's not like his acquisition precludes success. He just needs to be watched, and we have the support system in place to take care of him. He says it's "surreal" that he gets to play with Junior. That can only work to our benefit.

Bradley is, of course, a constant risk to get ejected if something goes against him on the field. A Google search for '"Milton Bradley" ejected' turns up more than 10,000 results, and everyone remembers what happened to him in San Diego. But Ichiro got ejected too, and the occasional early exit from a game isn't that big of a deal. Being argumentative on the field isn't the same as being difficult off of it, and besides, given Wak's whole spiel about trying to go a whole year without getting a player or coach kicked out, that may be a thing of the past anyway. What really matters here is that, even with Bradley's history, there's no guarantee that his personality is going to be a problem in 2010. We don't have Lou Piniella and dumbass alcoholics in the bleachers. We have Don Wakamatsu and soccer moms. I mean it when I say that this is literally the best place for a player like Bradley to land, and that's why this makes me so excited.

Braves Sign Joe Thurston; Vazquez Won't Cross the Rocky Mountains

gondeee — Fri, 18 Dec 2009 20:18:30 -0000

More photos » by Bill Boyce - AP

Utility man Joe Thurston, formerly of the Cardinals, has signed a minor league deal with the Braves.

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A few tidbits of information today. First off, from Mark Bowman we learn that the Braves have signed light-hitting utility man Joe Thurston, who last year was with the Cardinals, to a minor league deal with an invite to spring training. Thurston is mainly a second baseman, but he's made himself more valuable in recent years be learning to play the outfield and most recently learning to play third base (though, not that well). He's played a tad bit of shortstop in the minor leagues, but mainly he'll be in camp competing for the second utility infield position.

In the same blog post, and later in a front page post, Bowman quotes a source who confirms that it is highly unlikely that Javier Vazquez would waive his no-trade clause to go to a West coast team. I tackled that rumor and debunked it last night, albeit with out a "source," I instead used logic. It's good to know that Javy is still interested in remaining in Atlanta beyond next season. I'd like to see that happen, but of course, all of this is predicated on the Braves moving Derek Lowe.

Speaking of Lowe, I expect that we'll begin to hear another team mentioned more frequently in trade rumors with Lowe -- the New York Yankees. They seem to be tackling one off-season priority at a time, and after acquiring Curtis Granderson and now signing Nick Johnson, many people expect them to focus on starting pitching. The Braves are rumored to have long been interested in Nick Swisher. If they can swing Lowe for Swisher, then that may free up the Yankees to go back and try to re-sign Johnny Damon, another move that is seemingly in the Yankees interest.

Another team that may be looking for more starting pitching is the Cubs, who just freed up a bunch of money by trading Milton Bradley. I'm not sure how they would match up in a trade with the Braves, though, as they don't seem to have any surplus at a position the Braves need to fill.

I also continue to hear that free agent Xavier Nady and the Braves are close to a deal, and that only lingering medical questions about Nady are holding up the deal. Getting Swisher and Nady would seem to wrap up the principal needs of the Braves off-season, and set us up with a good and deep team heading into spring training. One name that I haven't heard mentioned with the Braves, but one I'd like to hear mentioned is Troy Glaus. He's a year removed from a fantastic season, and while he would primarily play first base, he would be an excellent third base insurance policy against Chipper Jones getting injured.

The Braves front office also officially announced, via a press release, that the team has signed six minor league free agents this off-season. The list includes left-handed pitcher Mariano Gomez, catchers Orlando Mercado and J.C. Boscan, infielder Joe Thurston and outfielders Brent Clevlen and Mitch Jones. They join right-handed pitcher Scott Proctor, who signed in November.

Mariners swap Carlos Silva for Milton Bradley

Eli Greenspan — Fri, 18 Dec 2009 18:10:56 -0000

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The Mariners pulled off another solid trade this offseason by acquiring disgruntled Cubs outfielder Milton Bradley in exchange for pitcher Carlos Silva.

Silva was awarded a hefty contract after going 13-14 in Minnesota, and it just has not worked out for him in Seattle.

Bradley is a nice pick up for the Mariners. Bradley can be their new left fielder and play in the relatively quiet Seattle, where the media hasn't been an issue for too many players.

If Silva can pitch in the NL, maybe this trade will work out for both sides. Until then, this is a huge steal for the Mariners.

Quick Thoughts On The Bradley/Silva Deal

Jeff — Fri, 18 Dec 2009 18:10:13 -0000

I don't know how much time I'll have to be around the computer today/this weekend, so I might as well address this now:

As with the Chone Figgins and Cliff Lee deals, I'm talking about this before it's actually official, so this could still blow up. Keep that in mind and take nothing for granted.

Carlos Silva is set to make $25m over the next two years, while Milton Bradley is set to make $21m. Some money would probably change hands in this deal, but they have very similar contracts, so for all intents and purposes the money balances out. This is simply an exchange of what two teams consider to be sunk costs.

Bradley didn't have much of a year with the Cubs in 2009, but he did still post a .378 OBP, and his 5/4/3 weighted wOBA projection is .386. He has been an above-average hitter for seven consecutive seasons, and he only turns 32 next April, so it's not like he's approaching the edge of the cliff. He can swing a bat. I don't know exactly what role he would take on with the Mariners, but he would presumably spend a lot of time at DH, which means we have more or less plugged a hole with a good bat for something like $0. That's...who would've ever even thought that was possible?

Bradley, however, is not strictly a DH - despite all those injuries (see them here!), he's still a reasonable defensive corner outfielder, meaning he could and would get time in left, presumably to spell Michael Saunders vs. lefties. Of course that's just one way I could see this working out, and I should know better than to try to keep up with this front office. What this comes down to is that, rather than add a pure DH, Z is just adding even more to the roster in the way of flexibility.

Carlos Silva is nothing. There's a chance he could go all Jeff Weaver and bounce back a little bit after disappearing from the public eye, but he does absolutely nothing that we couldn't get from at least a half-dozen random minor leaguers already in the system, so he's no loss at all, unless you consider it a negative that Felix is losing a friend. But they'll stay in touch, and something tells me Felix will be okay given everything else that's been going on.

Right or wrong, Bradley is perhaps the most well-known alleged clubhouse problem in baseball. The Mariners, meanwhile, supposedly have the most positive and tight-knit clubhouse in the league. If Bradley were to fit anywhere, Seattle makes the most sense, right? And keep in mind that Silva's no saint. I can't predict how Bradley will work here. There's a reason he's available for the low low cost of an expensive fat guy - he didn't pan out the way Chicago hoped he would, for several reasons. But Seattle should provide a soft landing, he'll be away from the crazy media, and given that it's not like he has a consistent history of flipping a tizzy, I feel pretty good about this.

I can't believe it. I can't believe Z might be topping the Lee deal. I think he read my post yesterday and took it as a challenge. Touche, Jack.

Most important thing about this whole deal: the M's are trading a guy who's expensive and worthless and getting a guy who's expensive and talented. Milton Bradley may not work out here, but Carlos Silva was guaranteed to provide nothing for the next two years. Bradley has upside. A lot of it. Jack has found a way to turn Silva's albatross of a contract into something that could help the team considerably. That's amazing. That's amazing! By spending ~nothing, we've just improved by anywhere from zero to like three or four wins.

WHAT

It's important, again, to emphasize Bradley's downside. He's injury-prone. He's coming off a down year. And, most notably, he's known to be a bit of a malcontent. There is no guarantee that this works out well, and if Bradley blows up, it could very well damage the team. But as for talent, he's a good find, and as for personality, there's no more supportive atmosphere than the one the Mariners seem to have built for themselves. If Bradley goes sour, that's a real problem. But if the M's and Wakamatsu handle this well, then there's no telling how much Bradley could produce. Bradley's range of possible outcomes is much broader than Silva's, and dips into the red, but because of all the potential good (and because we could just, y'know, cut him if he sucks), this is nothing short of a remarkable deal.

BREAKING: Milton Bradley Reported Headed To Seattle For Carlos Silva

Al — Fri, 18 Dec 2009 18:08:48 -0000

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Via tweet from Carrie Muskat:

Sources confirm Milton Bradley headed to Mariners for Carlos Silva -- merry christmas #cubs fans

Well. Clearly, Carlos Silva has been one of the worst pitchers in baseball the last two years. This is not a deal you'd make in a vacuum, and unless Silva has a previously undisclosed injury or some sort of massive mechanical problem, the Cubs won't get any decent production out of him.

However, I ask you to remember what happened seven years ago, when Todd Hundley "had" to be traded under similar (though certainly not identical) circumstances, and Jim Hendry turned him into Eric Karros and Mark Grudzielanek.

Karros had just come off two really poor years and a lot of Cubs fans wondered, "What do we want with him? We have Hee Seop Choi ready to take over 1B." Grudzielanek was similarly awful in 2002, posting a Neifi-like .665 OPS.

Yet by the end of the 2003 season, both of these players had played significant roles in the NL Central championship season, and Karros is still remembered fondly by Cubs fans for the full-page ad he took out in the Tribune thanking all of us for his memorable season.

Let's wait and see. For me, I'm happy that Jim Hendry managed to fix his mistake from a year ago, albeit at a high (for now) dollar cost. Maybe Carlos Silva will reclaim what he had in Minnesota and be worth the contract.

Next stop: signing a CF.