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Rangers Aren’t Interested In Bradley

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The Rangers aren't interested in bringing Milton Bradley back to Texas, according to MLB.com's T.R. Sullivan. Sources make it clear to Sullivan that the club won't look to re-acquire the now-available outfielder. A week ago, Jeff Wilson of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram reported that the Rangers feel Bradley became selfish at the end of last season.

Bradley, who led the American League with a .999 OPS last year, hit .257/.378/.397 in the first year of his multi-year deal with the Cubs. There are two years and $21MM remaining on the 31-year-old's contract.

The Royals aren't interested in Bradley; the Padres are open-minded about him and other teams could get involved, too.

Odds & Ends: Pirates, Mariners, Cubs

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Because we know you aren't ready to go to bed just yet…

  • With the Pirates looking to end their streak of losing seasons, Manager John Russell described the team's offseason plan this way: "To say what specific area, we'll see what the board holds," Russell said. "I don't know — is it a left fielder? Is it a second baseman? Is it a pitcher? I don't know. We'll just have to look into it and see what's available. Offensively, we've struggled. It would be nice to find a bat that can be productive."  
  • According to Geoff Baker of the Seattle Times, all the Mariners' coaches should be back next season.
  • Phil Rogers of the Chicago Tribune has his wish list of power hitters for the Cubs. Astonishingly, it includes Gary Sheffield. 
  • According to Corey Brock of MLB.com, GM Kevin Towers has not been told yet by Padres' management if he will be returning in 2010.
  • Adam McCalvy of MLB.com reports that Brewers' GM Doug Melvin is expected to ask Ken Macha to return as manager on Friday.
  • Apparently, however, Seth McClung does not expect to return to Milwaukee in 2010, and has Twittered his discontent.

Odds & Ends: Padres, Molina, Cubs, Unit

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Another round of links for the afternoon…

  • ESPN.com's Rob Neyer would like to see big market teams share more revenue with their small market rivals. Still, he says MLB has been competitive compared to football, basketball and hockey.
  • Padres CEO Jeff Moorad was non-committal about GM Kevin Towers' future on XX 1090 in San Diego, according to MLB.com's Corey Brock (via Twitter). Moorad said Towers is the GM now, and added that the Padres are evaluating all levels of the organization.
  • Towers said in no uncertain terms that he wants to be in San Diego.
  • Bengie Molina's agent tells the AP that his client wants to return to San Francisco (via ESPN). We heard in late August that Molina wants to sign a two-year deal. ESPN.com's Keith Law says the Giants should pass.
  • Maury Brown of the Biz of Baseball notes that the Cubs have drawn three million fans for the sixth straight season. Along with the Cubs, only the Angels, Dodgers, Yankees and Cardinals have accomplished the feat.
  • Randy Johnson tells the AP (via the East Valley Tribune) that he's in no rush to decide on his future.
  • Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports hands out his postseason awards and issues a number of apologies to people around the game.

Odds & Ends: Padres, Molina, Cubs, Unit

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Another round of links for the afternoon…

  • ESPN.com's Rob Neyer would like to see big market teams share more revenue with their small market rivals. Still, he says MLB has been competitive compared to football, basketball and hockey.
  • Padres CEO Jeff Moorad was non-committal about GM Kevin Towers' future on XX 1090 in San Diego, according to MLB.com's Corey Brock (via Twitter). Moorad said Towers is the GM now, and added that the Padres are evaluating all levels of the organization.
  • Towers said in no uncertain terms that he wants to be in San Diego.
  • Bengie Molina's agent tells the AP that his client wants to return to San Francisco (via ESPN). We heard in late August that Molina wants to sign a two-year deal. ESPN.com's Keith Law says the Giants should pass.
  • Maury Brown of the Biz of Baseball notes that the Cubs have drawn three million fans for the sixth straight season. Along with the Cubs, only the Angels, Dodgers, Yankees and Cardinals have accomplished the feat.
  • Randy Johnson tells the AP (via the East Valley Tribune) that he's in no rush to decide on his future.
  • Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports hands out his postseason awards and issues a number of apologies to people around the game.

Piniella Hints That Bradley’s A Goner

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Cubs manager Lou Piniella hinted on ESPN Radio today that Milton Bradley will not play another game for the Cubs (via ESPN Chicago). The talented outfielder has two years and $21MM remaining on his contract, but Piniella suggested Bradley will spend those two seasons elsewhere.

"Now we try to find somebody else," Piniella said. "I know Jim [Hendry, the team GM] will work very hard at it."

Piniella is hardly the first one to suggest that Bradley will likely continue his career with another team. The Padres could have interest in Bradley, but the Royals won't bite. Ken Rosenthal suggested this weekend that the Giants, Rangers, Rays and Mets could all have interest in the 31-year-old.

The Cubs manager also criticized Bradley for his total of 40 RBIs. Bradley often hit second, so he didn't have as many opportunities to produce runs as some, but he failed to capitalize when given the chance; only eight of the 266 players with at least 300 plate appearances drove home a smaller percentage of runners than Bradley, who brought home just a tenth of those who reached base ahead of him.

Will Yusei Kikuchi Choose MLB?

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Yusei Kikuchi may decide this week between Japanese baseball and MLB, according to Bobbie Dittmeier of MLB.com.  As Dittmeier says, the hard-throwing 18-year-old southpaw would "become the first high school player to bypass Japan's draft and sign with a Major League organization."

Dittmeier says the Yankees, Mets, Dodgers, Cubs, Giants, Tigers, Braves, Rangers, Mariners and Indians have reportedly scouted Kikuchi.  She passes along a Kyodo News quote from Kikuchi's high school coach indicating the pitcher is 50-50 on his decision.

NPB Tracker's Patrick Newman has covered Kikuchi extensively.  Back in May, Newman explained to MLBTR the differences between Kikuchi and Junichi Tazawa.

Odds & Ends: Griffey, Harden, Guzman

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Let's have a look at a few evening links….

  • John McGrath of the Tacoma News Tribune notes that the uncertainty regarding Ken Griffey Jr.'s future with the Mariners could make for an uncomfortable PR situation, given Griffey's popularity in Seattle. We've already heard that Griffey would be open to returning and that the Mariners would not reject the idea. McGrath rightly points out though that it would be a mistake to bring the 39-year-old back as the same middle-of-the-order DH he was this year, since he has hit just .214/.323/.395. If the Mariners do retain Griffey, McGrath says it has to be a pinch hitter and part-time player.
  • After earlier reports that the Cubs might not be interested in retaining Rich Harden, we get a follow-up from Keith Law at ESPN.com wondering what type of deal Harden might get. Law compares Harden to Brad Penny, suggesting that, like Penny, the Cubs righty may not be able to secure a multi-year deal because of health concerns.
  • Bill Ladson of MLB.com blogs that Cristian Guzman is still unsure about playing second base for the Nationals in 2010. GM Mike Rizzo and interim manager Jim Riggleman requested the move, feeling that Guzman "no longer has the range to play shortstop."
  • The White Sox should consider keeping Jermaine Dye, according to Matt Meyers of ESPN.com. Although he acknowledges that the outfielder's declining slugging percentage and subpar fielding make for a scary combination, Meyers contends that Dye is a better fit in Chicago than anywhere else, since he could replace the departed Jim Thome as the team's full-time DH. Dye would like to return and Ozzie wants him back too, but the Sox aren't about to pick up the $12MM option just because it's the best fit for Dye.
  • Corey Brock at MLB.com talks to San Diego Padres' GM Kevin Towers about the focus on speed for the Padres. Towers believes there is such a thing as a "PETCO Park player," and that athleticism is a crucial characteristic for playing in the spacious ballpark. Given this approach, it'll be interesting to see who the Padres might target from this offseason's free agent pool.
  • Baseball America's Ben Badler tweets that the Pittsburgh Pirates' win this afternoon once again clinched the No. 1 pick for the Washington Nationals in next June's draft. The Pirates and Baltimore Orioles are still in the mix for No. 2.

Cubs Not Looking To Retain Rich Harden?

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The Chicago Tribune's Paul Sullivan writes that the Cubs have no plans to bring back Rich Harden, as alluded to by manager Lou Piniella.  Prior to losing the final road game of the season to the San Francisco, Piniella ran down the 2010 rotation.

"You look at our starting pitching here for next year," Piniella said. "You've got (Carlos) Zambrano, you've got (Ryan) Dempster, you've got (Randy) Wells, you've got (Ted) Lilly, you've got (Tom) Gorzelanny, and you've got (Jeff) Samardzija…And if this kid keeps improving, he'll be right in the mix. So we've got six nice arms."

Gordon Wittenmyer of the Chicago Sun-Times reported that Piniella characterized the starting five as being "pretty settled."  Wittenmyer feels that Gorzelanny has a leg up on Samardzija and Sean Marshall for the fifth slot. 

Zambrano, despite his personal frustration, could once again be an elite pitcher.  The 28-year-old ace is discouraged by his depressed win total, but still managed to post a 3.69 ERA with 8.0 K/9 – a marked improvement over his 6.2 K/9 in 2008.  Lilly has had what you could call a career year at the age of 33, recording all-time bests with a 3.02 ERA and 4.21 K/BB ratio.  Dempster's HR, BB and SO rates are in the neighborhood of where they were last year, when he garnered national attention.  Wells put up a strong 3.18 ERA on the way to becoming the first Cubs rookie to notch 10 wins since Kerry Wood.

Are the Cubs in good enough shape to let Harden sign elsewhere without having to sift through the lackluster available starting pitchers?  Let's hear your thoughts in the comments section.

Odds & Ends: Chapman, Indians, Dye, Cubs

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Let's take a look at the wire…

  • Bill Shaikin of the Los Angeles Times talked to Angels scouting director Eddie Bane about his level of interest in Cuban pitcher Aroldis Chapman.  Bane once again stated that he is intrigued by the 21-year-old lefty, but must see him face live batting before considering making an offer.
  • A clause in Red Sox pitching coach John Farrell's contract prevents him from accepting an outside managerial position until after the 2010 season, writes Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports.  Farrell, who served as Cleveland's farm director before joining the BoSox, was expected to be a candidate to manage the Indians if Eric Wedge is not brought back.
  • More from Ken Rosenthal as he reports that the Brewers are "seemingly on the verge" of retaining Ken Macha and are considering hiring pitching coach Rick Peterson. Macha and Peterson were on the Oakland staff together from 1999-2003.  Peterson served under Macha in 2003, his first year as the A's skipper.
  • MLB.com's Scott Merkin reports that Ozzie Guillen hopes "it's not the end" for him and Jermaine Dye, as 2010 marks a mutual option year.  Dye wants to return but the White Sox are unlikely to pick up the 35-year-old's $12MM option.
  • Carrie Muskat of MLB.com reports that Lou Piniella doesn't expect the Cubs roster to change too much.  "Last year we had about 10 changes here," Piniella said. "If we have half that, that's a nice number. Some changes [last year] were out of necessity. I see us being selective in what we do."
  • Toronto's Jose Bautista is improving his stock heading into arbitration, writes MLB.com's Jordan Bastian.
  • Andrew Baggarly of the San Jose Mercury News writes in his blog that Brian Sabean denied telling season-ticket holders that he would "undoubtedly" look to pick up Freddy Sanchez's option, but said that the Giants want to hang on to him.

Peavy For Zambrano?

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Phil Rogers of The Chicago Tribune says that there is some buzz regarding a Second City swap of Jake Peavy and Carlos Zambrano:

"Some baseball people believe the White Sox could have interest in the Cubs' Carlos Zambrano, possibly even for the newly acquired Jake Peavy.  It would be a way for two teams without much money to spend to shake things up, but wouldn't Peavy have more value than Zambrano at this point?"

Peavy, as you may remember, listed the Cubs as a team he was willing to be traded to when the Padres first looked to move him.  Zambrano has solid numbers for the year, posting an ERA of 3.69 and 8 strikeouts per 9 innings. 

With just two starts in black and white, people are already wondering if Peavy will be a part of the team's 2010 plans.  Big Z has had a very strong September (2.81 ERA, 38 K's in 32 IP) but frustrations on the north side of Chicago have put every Cubbie under the gun.

Starting in 2010, the continuation of Peavy's contract will pay him $52MM over three years plus a club option.  Zambrano will earn $53.75MM in the next three years with a vesting player option for 2013 worth $19.25MM.

Could an intra-city trade of this magnitude ever happen?  Should either team pursue such a trade or is this simply a case of the grass being greener on the other end of the Windy City?

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