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Possible Milton Bradley Suitors

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Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle mentions several potential suitors for Milton Bradley in today’s column.  She names the Padres and Pirates as possibilities, citing connections to Paul DePodesta and Jim Tracy.  Additionally, Slusser quotes Billy Beane in saying that he worked on a Bradley trade within the past three weeks but it fell through.

The Pirates, as a noncontender, really don’t need to be picking up impending free agents.  There’s just no reason for it.  They need to give as much playing time to young players as possible.

The Padres, though, make a fine fit.  Bradley could help them in all three outfield spots, when healthy.  John Perrotto confirms interest from both teams. 

Meanwhile, the Mets will apparently pass because of Bradley’s baggage.  Bradley, though, had a relatively peaceful stay in Oakland. 

A’s Designate Bradley For Assignment

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In a surprising move, the Athletics designated Milton Bradley for assignment today.  The A’s will have to trade Bradley and his $4MM contract within ten days or just release him and eat the cost.  Around $2.2MM remains.  He’ll become a free agent after the season. 

Bradley is one of the most fragile players in all of baseball, the Kerry Wood of position players.  He spent 2006-07 as an Athletic, hitting .279/.371/.447 in 416 ABs.  Bradley remains a very useful center fielder when he’s able to play, so a number of teams should pursue him.  At least at this moment, he is relatively healthy.  The Marlins and Cardinals could have interest.

Athletics Nation isn’t sure why Billy Beane made this decision, but trusts his judgment.

A’s Looking At Nate Robertson

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Interesting note from a Tuesday night MLB.com article:

"An Oakland scout was in attendance on Tuesday, specifically to evaluate Tigers left-hander Nate Robertson."

Robertson was battered around that night against the Rangers.  He insisted he was healthy, but hit the DL the next day with a tired arm.  It’s obvious that Robertson does not believe he belongs on the DL and the Tigers decided this was best.

The 29 year-old southpaw was excellent in April, but has really tanked starting May 9th.  He’s making $3.26MM this year and won’t become a free agent until after the 2009 season.  Robertson has a lot in common with teammate Kenny Rogers, and it would be wise for a team to buy low on him if possible.

The former Marlin has dealt with a dead arm before in 2005, and it’s likely he’ll snap out of this and return to form.  His 223.6 innings last year (playoffs included) were easily a career high.

The Percival Saga Continues

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For all the ink being spilled over the soon-to-be home of Troy Percival, is this guy really going to make much of a difference?  For all of his career saves, he really didn’t have that many dominating seasons, and of course it’s been a few years since he put together a full healthy season, regardless of quality.

Anyway, Rosenthal checks in with a report on the teams present at Troy’s most recent workout, notably new additions the Braves and the A’s.  Atlanta shouldn’t come as a surprise: John Schuerholz has been on a mission to have a solid pen ever since last year’s debacle, and with Mike Gonzalez going on the shelf for the rest of the year, it’s only natural that he’d seek another late-inning option.  The A’s are less obvious, but also make sense in their way: they’ve been aggressive in acquiring high-risk, high-reward type players, and they are also short a couple of relief arms due to injury.

Finally, the Philly Inquirer cites reports that the Phillies and Tigers are most interested in Percival. 

By Jeff Sackmann
Brew Crew Ball

A’s Acquire Dee Brown

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It doesn’t get much more minor than this, but the A’s have made yet another move to bolster their outfield depth, grabbing Dee Brown from the D-Backs for cash.  I guess when you have a ton of minor league outfielders on the major league roster, you have to find somebody to man the position in Sacramento.

What strikes me as odd, though, is that a few weeks ago the A’s sent Charles Thomas to Milwaukee for catcher J.D. Closser.  Oakland did need the catching insurance, but in a depth-for-depth swap, you’d think that Billy Beane could convince Doug Melvin to take someone other than Thomas in exchange.

By Jeff Sackmann
Brew Crew Ball

Blanton’s Durability Makes a Trade Unlikely

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Also from K-Ro’s latest, Billy Beane isn’t ruling anything out, but at the same time, he has a hard time envisioning trading Joe Blanton any time soon:

"He’s a lot better than he gets credit for, and he’s incredibly durable, too. He’s a 200-inning pitcher with quality stuff. And he’s getting better and better."

Blanton’s peripheral stats are also cited as being on the rise, and we all know how Beane values such things, but don’t underestimate how much he and the A’s value the durability.  Year after year, the A’s are riddled with injuries — Bobby Crosby, the outfielders, Rich Harden, the list goes on and on — and having someone as dependable as Blanton to pencil in for 30+ starts a year has to be comforting.

Come mid- to late-July, you know the A’s will be active, they always are, but don’t look for Blanton to be someone involved in any deal.

Tom Goyne is the author of Balls, Sticks, & Stuff, a Phillies-centric site, and maintains the Phloggers’ Pheeds page, a source for the latest commentary from around the "phlogosphere". Recently, he teamed up with his brother to launch Roto Front Office.

Rosenthal’s Latest

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Ken Rosenthal posted a new article this afternoon.  A good read as usual, though not chock full of new rumors.

  • Rocco Baldelli remains the Devil Rays’ best trading chip; they hope to see the 25 year-old return and re-establish the trade value he had in 2006.  Many are already saying the Rays waited too long on Baldelli, but let’s see what they get for him before making that judgment.
  • Reggie Willits has hit his way into a starting job for the Angels.  Nice to see an Angel drawing walks 12% of the time.  That will enable Willits to remain effective after his batting average regresses.  Rosenthal says third base is the clear position for upgrade for the Angels.  Garrett Atkins is desired, and Rosenthal would consider Brandon Wood a reasonable bounty.  If I’m Dan O’Dowd, I’m making that deal.  Meanwhile, Bill Shaikin believes the Blue Jays would ask for Wood for Troy Glaus, but would settle for Ervin Santana and 1B/3B/DH Matt Brown.  Shaikin’s source says J.P. Ricciardi is not yet prepared to trade Glaus, however.
  • Rosenthal speculates that the Braves would like to add a big-time starter to get away from the current plan of "Hudson and Smoltz and pray for lightning bolts."  Sorry, that was the best weather rhyme I could come up with.  He mentions Rich Harden and Dontrelle Willis, accompanied by the obligatory Jarrod Saltalamacchia rumor.  Poor Salty.

More Rickey

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A few weeks ago, the return of Roger Clemens inspired Rickey Henderson to start making noise about playing in the Majors again.  Now the A’s may be opening the door just a crack for Henderson to have one last hurrah.

According to the San Francisco Chronicle, Billy Beane said he’d consider bringing Henderson back for one game in September, as long as it wouldn’t be detrimental to the team in any way.  Beane, however, has not yet communicated this to Rickey.

Logging a little PT in September would push Rickey’s HOF induction back five years.  But he wants to go out on a high note, with the team he’s most associated with.  As RotoWorld said, why not keep Rickey around all September and let him run for Jack Cust and Mike Piazza? 

Stark’s Latest

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Jayson Stark posted a new Rumblings and Grumblings column over at ESPN; it’s definitely worth a read.  A summary of his trade rumors:

  • GMs calling the Marlins have noticed that the team seems a little more open to trading Dontrelle Willis this year. Miguel Cabrera doesn’t appear to be under discussion.  If the Marlins are out of the race in mid-July and a team ponies up with three legimate young regulars, they might be able to pry him away.  The D’Backs or Dodgers could probably pull this off without damaging their current group too much.
  • Stark says the D-Rays are considering promoting both Evan Longoria and Reid Brignac before the trading deadline, filling out the left side of their infield.  Someone would have to be pushed out; maybe B.J. Upton to center, Akinori Iwamura to second, and Rocco Baldelli to another team.  Stark reminds us of past interest by the Red Sox.  And don’t forget all the interest from Atlanta in December.   
  • The Rich Harden trade rumors may just reflect frustration on Billy Beane’s part, and not actual availability.
  • Stark also debates whether the Rangers would still be on the hook for $21MM if Alex Rodriguez opts out and then the Yankees re-sign him.  Right now it’s an open question.

A’s Lock Up Nick Swisher

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Today, the A’s locked up first baseman/outfielder Nick Swisher through 2011 with a club option for 2012.  He had been due for free agency starting in 2011. The cash breakdown: $26.75MM for 2007-11, and $10.25MM with a $1MM buyout for the option year.  That option becomes $12MM with a top five MVP finish over the life of the contract; I think there’s a decent chance of that happening.

Swisher is a 26 year-old switch-hitter with a career line of .249/.356/.475 in 1169 ABs.  His walk rate is up near 20% this year; this should be his first 100 walk season.  Swisher’s top two comps according to Baseball Prospectus are Tim Salmon and Harmon Killebrew.  Both players were good hitters into their mid-30s, so this contract looks great for Oakland.

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