Milton Bradley Suitors

Yeah but a 3 team trade with the Mets Rays cand Cubs could work.

1.Cubs get Castillo
2.Mets get Burell who can be used mostly off the bench and then we could finally sign Hudson.
3. Rays get Bradley and Cash.

"Sullivan says reports suggest Mets ownership may be anti-Bradley."

Bradley in New York? I would not wish that even on him.

Bradley would have as much success in New York as he did in Chicago. He can't cope with the pressure of a big media market.

I proposed this in the thread about the Reds trading Phillips, etc. yesterday.

Bradley (owed $21MM thru 2011)
Fox (owed $401k)
Fontenot (owed 430k)

for

Phillips (owed $18MM thru 2011)
Cordero (owed $25MM thru 2011)

Reds dump a ton (nearly 20 million) in salary and get a pair of power hitters and a speedy second baseman. Bradley, who is bound to have a bounce-back year, can't cry racism with Dusty as his manager (like he did with Lou in Chicago) and can cope a lot better with the small-market Cincy scene. Cubs get some much-needed experience and durability in the bullpen with Cordero and a power-hitting second baseman with above-average defense and speed in Phillips.

Cubswin?, No one wants Bradley. People in the Reds front office may be dumb but not dumb enough to get Bradley. Plus, The Reds have a ton of OF prospects in the minors that could get the call next year. Bradley would just be wasting space. Also, I don't think the Reds would want to help out the Cubs.

Ok, yeah, this seems to be more realistic as far as suitors go.

TEX - possibly the most likely destination, but its still a questionable fit. They cant add payroll so they will need Hendry to eat a large chunk of the cost. Yet Hendry seems unwilling to do so.

SF - apparently not interest

TB - extremely unlikely, as we know they want the ability to release him at any time with no financial hit and the Cubs dont want to pick up mush of the money owed.

NYM - owner possibly to squash deal (and realistically, thats the right thing for everyone involved. Bradley claims this years issues started with media scrutiny. And you can bet the NY media is licking their lips already over possibly getting their hands on him)

TOR - New GM (AA) rumored to be uninterested in him

SD - Towers said he might be interested in him again. But Towers isnt there anymore. However, DePodesta is and Paul was the GM who in LA during Bradley's turbulent time there.

All these "multiple suitors" reports going around seem to be getting exposed quite a bit now, and the more realistic "limited options" outcome is floating to the surface.

1. @supersteve: Luis Castillo is absolutely horrendous. I would rather the Cubs eat Bradley's contract and then some. He is a terrible defender and someone unable to hit for an extra base hit to save his life.

2. @CubsWin: The Reds have looked to keep Cordero. And why would they trade 2 All-Star caliber players for a terrible attitude, a terrible fielder, and a terrible starter? HORRIBLE TRADE for Cincy.

3. Bradley won't go to waivers because the Cubs have no interest in eating the majority of the contract.

With that, if the Cubs WERE to eat a giant chunk of money, I would want them to get a good player in return. They should be able to get Crawford or Upton if they eat Bradley's contract (maybe $15 million of his money) and add a prospect or 2. They Rays know they can't pay both Crawford and Upton.

Oh, and with Lee: he should get a 1- or 2-year extension. Someone a while back suggested the Cubs get Rammy work at 1B, then move him there in a few years when Vitters is ready.

I cant imagine anyone wanting that malcontent Milton Bradley. He seemed to fit in w/ Texas but that was probably just his contract year.

-- SuzysMan - I think you are giving too much credit to Lowe. The Braves are going to need to eat 25% or more just to move him with nothing coming back. I could see Bradley + $5m for Lowe or Bradley + impact young talent for Lowe.

-- The Cubs wouldn't want Rios. Why make the problem worse by taking on more annual salary and a longer contract term.

-- The Cubs would be ecstatic if someone claimed Bradley. No one though is going to pay the full freight on the guy. The question has always been "how much" will the Cubs need to kick in (dollars and/or prospects) to make Bradley palatable.

-- There is NO WAY the Cubs get Crawford or Upton in a deal with Bradley. Look - it's real simple. Plenty of GM's would take Bradley if the deal means they are paying between $2-4m/year. That would mean the Cubs eat $14-18m. That doesn't net you anything back that is worth anything. That is just getting Bradley off the books without having to eat his entire contract. To suggest that the Rays would somehow just throw in Crawford of Upton is absurd.

-- There is absolutely no reason to release this guy. Someone will take him with enough money being included. Or you take back another bad contract and hope that the player can turn things around. In either situation it is far better than just eating his contract through a release.

so far. the giants are the smartest team about this.

Hendry doesn't know how to negotiate contracts and has a history of signing Type A & B players over market, ie. Soriano, Bradley most recent. Cubs fans can only hope that Ricketts will get involved and provide some business sense in the contract negotiations.

The Cubs aren't in a position to start negotiating contracts for Lee, Lilly or any other player who's contract expires at the end of 2010. The new owner needs to settle a spring training for 2011, hire positions as he stated, set in motion the Wrigley renovations. Realistically with contracts expiring and the economy as it is and the renovations needed it doesn't seem like too many contracts will be extended. If the Cubs are in a similar situation 2010 as they were in 2009 then as a fan we should hope the Cubs mngmt trades the expiring contracts to get some low level prospects to rebuild a minor league system that is one of the worsts in MLB. If they are in contention then short contracts being extended to those players are more realistic than long term.

NEWS FLASH...NEW YORK WANTS MILTON BRADLEY!

That's the Bellevue Hospital mental ward, of course. He fits perfectly in their storied line-up.