Cubs Suspend Milton Bradley
6:01pm: For those of you who are interested, here's Bradley's apology statement, courtesy of Gordon Wittenmyer at the Chicago Sun-Times:
"I chose Chicago as a free agent because I wanted to be part of finally bringing a championship to Chicago's fans. I expected to have a great season, and I am deeply disappointed by my performance and the team's struggles.
I played every game with everything that I had and wanted desperately to win. My frustration and disappointment boiled over, and I said and did certain things that I regret. In hindsight, I wish that I handled certain things differently, and I apologize for those things that did not work out for the better.
The air has been cleared, and we all want to move on and look forward to better days."
4:48pm: According to Ken Rosenthal of FOXSports.com, the Cubs have reached a resolution with Bradley. He'll be paid for the final two weeks of the season and, in turn, the MLBPA will not file a grievance. Bradley also plans to issue an apology for some of his remarks.
WEDNESDAY, 2:53pm: Paul Sullivan notes that the Cubs have yet to file paperwork regarding Bradley's suspension and the MLB Players Association can't file a grievance until they do. At this point, it's basically an agreement between the club and Bradley that he won't return this season.
SUNDAY: According to Paul Sullivan of the Chicago Tribune, the Cubs have suspended disgruntled outfielder Milton Bradley for the rest of the season.
Bradley, who signed a three-year, $30MM contract last winter, took shots at the Cubs organization during an interview with the Arlington Heights Daily Herald on Saturday, and has battled with fans on the North Side of Chicago for much of the season. GM Jim Hendry is expected to seek out a trade partner for the 31-year-old right fielder this offseason.
"The last few days became too much for me to tolerate," Hendry said Sunday, fed up with the player's attitude toward the fans and media in Chicago. "I'm certainly not going to let our great fans become excuses."
Bradley's trade value has undoubtedly taken a hit because of this mess. And it's not like he was hitting the cover off the ball. Through 124 games this season, he had a .257/.378/.397 batting line, 12 home runs and 40 RBI. It's hard to guess who might want him — there aren't any drama-inviting teams like the Bengals or Cowboys in Major League Baseball.
Odds & Ends: Astros, Bradley, Rangers, Ramon
A fresh batch of links for Wednesday afternoon…
- Richard Justice of the Houston Chronicle highlights some of the positives and negatives of the ongoing Drayton McLane era in Houston. "This is his franchise," writes Justice, "and he's certainly no absentee owner. He's front and center for all the good and all the bad."
- According to David Roeder of the Chicago Sun-Times, the IRS may be planning to challenge the Tribune Co.'s sale of the Cubs. The Tribune is attempting to save about $300 million in capital gains taxes with the sale, but is also maintaining a 5 percent stake in the franchise. So it's really more of a partnership.
- Milton Bradley's mother, Charlena Rector, told the Sun-Times' Chris DeLuca Tuesday that her son is open to returning to the Cubs. Of course, GM Jim Hendry and Co. probably don't want him back.
- MLB.com's T.R. Sullivan lays out several facts regarding the sale of the Texas Rangers. For what it's worth, Major League Baseball is hoping the sale price will be over $500MM.
- As Adam Kilgore of the Boston Globe notes, Ramon Ramirez is extremely happy with the trade that brought him to Boston last winter. “I love these guys,’’ the reliever said Tuesday. “It’s been great to be in Boston. I’m enjoying it. It’s been a good time. This is a great team.’’ He's done well for himself, too, posting a 2.67 ERA and a .227 BAA.
- ESPN.com's Jerry Crasnick highlights nine players who are, as he puts it, "at a career crossroads." Among the names? Delmon Young, B.J. Upton and Francisco Liriano.
Olney On Bradley, Jays, Wood
ESPN.com's Buster Olney hears that the Rangers probably wouldn't welcome Milton Bradley back. Here's the latest on the now-suspended outfielder, along with the rest of Olney's rumors:
- Olney says the Cubs will likely have to eat a huge portion of Bradley's contract to move him, perhaps as much as $18-19MM. The Cubs owe the 31-year-old $21MM over the next two years.
- The Padres may be looking for a corner outfielder this offseason, so they could have interest in Bradley.
- Olney says baseball people presume Jays GM J.P. Ricciardi will be fired. (What do you think?) If the Jays cut ties with their GM, Cubs scouting director Tim Wilken could be a candidate to replace him.
- Clubs expect the Indians to consider moving Kerry Wood this offseason. Cleveland is rebuilding, so they'd presumably be happy to unload his $10.5MM salary.
Odds & Ends: Mets, Bradley, Free Agents
Some links for Tuesday morning…
- Be here at 2pm CST for today's chat.
- Newsday's Ken Davidoff thinks Randy Wolf and Orlando Hudson are among the free agents the Mets should avoid after the season.
- Neil Hayes of the Chicago Sun-Times says Jim Hendry's decision to sign Milton Bradley was inexcusable. The signing didn't work out, but Bradley did lead the AL in OPS last year.
- ESPN.com's Jayson Stark reports that the MLB Players Association may file a grievance in response to the Cubs' suspension of Bradley. The volatile outfielder doesn't know if the Cubs will pay him over the course of his suspension.
- Be sure to check out our list of 2011 free agents. These players are on track to hit free agency after next season. Joe Mauer and Derek Jeter are among the bigger names to appear on the list.
- And here's our list of players who will hit free agency after this season. You can find both lists at the right side of the site and we'll keep them updated at all times.
Odds & Ends: Webb, Griffey, Hoffman
Links for Monday…
- The NCAA is cracking down on the adviser/agent distinction for future draftees, presumably in response to the Andy Oliver ruling. ESPN's Jerry Crasnick has the story.
- Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic suggests parameters for a new Brandon Webb contract.
- Ken Griffey Jr. still isn't talking about 2010, according to Geoff Baker of the Seattle Times.
- Brewers GM Doug Melvin shares Trevor Hoffman's interest in a 2010 contract, according to Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel.
- Joe Sheehan of Baseball Prospectus says Cubs GM Jim Hendry is "blatantly pandering to the disgruntled fan base" with the Milton Bradley suspension.
- David O'Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution discusses the possibility of the Braves re-signing Adam LaRoche.
- Sam Mellinger of the Kansas City Star wonders if Robinson Tejeda's recent performance is for real.
- Pirates GM Neal Huntington is not pleased to have so many players declining to play winter ball, according to Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
- We'll be keeping a close eye on Kevin Millwood's start tonight in Oakland. His $12MM option for 2010 vests if he records 13 outs.
Discussion: Milton Bradley For Oliver Perez
There is no indication the Cubs and Mets have discussed swapping disappointing free agent signings Milton Bradley and Oliver Perez. It makes for interesting discussion, however. Joel Sherman of the New York Post even wonders if an expanded deal could include Carlos Zambrano or Luis Castillo.
Bradley's power disappeared this year en route to a .257/.378/.397 line in 473 plate appearances. He adapted poorly to Chicago, his season ending with a team-mandated suspension for his negative comments. Would New York be any easier? The switch-hitting Bradley turns 32 in April and has $21MM remaining on his contract.
Perez's already-lousy control worsened to a ridiculous 7.9 walks per nine innings in his 14 starts this year. He still piled up strikeouts, but home runs and hits were a problem as well. His 28.3% groundball rate was among the lowest in baseball. Perez arrived at Spring Training from the WBC out of shape, and was booted to the bullpen in May. He dealt with a knee problem thereafter and had season-ending surgery in August. The 28-year-old Scott Boras client has $24MM remaining on his contract.
Perez for Bradley – who says no?
Odds & Ends: A’s, Villalona, Millwood, Bradley
A few links to peruse as the Cubs and Cardinals prepare to do battle on ESPN's Sunday Night Baseball…
- A scout told the San Francisco Chronicle's Susan Slusser last week that the A's "got smoked" on July's Scott Hairston deal. As you may remember, Oakland sent pitchers Ryan Webb, Sean Gallagher and Craig Italiano to the Padres this summer for the 29-year-old outfielder. An AL scout used the same terminology when speaking with Tom Krasovic about the deal earlier this month.
- According to the Associated Press, Giants first base prospect Angel Villalona is the main suspect in the killing of a 25-year-old man in the Dominican Republic. As Tim noted on MLBTR's Twitter feed this afternoon, "a 20 year sentence would probably affect" his prospect status. Villalona, 19, hit .267/.306/.397 in 74 games this season at Single-A San Jose.
- As Stephen Hawkins of the Associated Press points out, Kevin Millwood's $12MM option for 2010 will vest if he reaches 4 1/3 innings in his Monday start against the A's.
- Paul Sullivan of the Chicago Tribune has reaction from several Cubs regarding the suspension of teammate Milton Bradley. "Sometimes you've just got to look in the mirror," said right-hander Ryan Dempster, "and realize that maybe the biggest part of the problem is yourself and (not) wanting to be here and play every day, and wanting to have some fun."
Rosenthal’s Full Count Video: Dodgers, DeRosa, Cubs, Managers, General Managers
Ken Rosenthal of FoxSports.com has a new Full Count video up, so let's dive right on in…
- Southpaws Randy Wolf and Clayton Kershaw are likely to start the first two games of the playoffs for the Dodgers, but Kershaw must recover from his dislocated non-throwing shoulder first. The back-to-back lefties would be a big advantage if LA played the lefthanded hitter heavy Phillies. Rosenthal also mentions that the Cardinals, despite being so righty heavy, have the second lowest team OPS (.675) against lefthanded pitchers in the National League.
- Hiroki Kuroda would likely start game three for the Dodgers, followed by either Vicente Padilla or Jon Garland. Chad Billinglsey will likely be left out of the rotation.
- The Cards have put their contract extension talks with Mark DeRosa on hold until the offseason, making it more likely that he'll become a free agent. The deal St. Louis originally proposed was less than the three-year, $17.5MM contract Casey Blake received as a free agent last offseason. DeRosa is a year younger now than Blake was then, but the offseason wrist surgery he is scheduled to have makes the situation cloudy.
- The Cubs will be open to "anything and everything" this offseason, including trading Milton Bradley and/or Carlos Zambrano. Anything to improve the club, basically. However, perhaps the only way the Cubs could unload Bradley would be to take on another underachieving, overpaid player in return.
- Zambrano has a full no-trade clause and is owed $54MM over the next three years, but he's still only 28-years-old and still incredibly talented. The free agent market for starting pitching is thin, which may work in Chicago's favor. Big Z might be appealing at the right price.
- Ken Macha will likely remain with the Brewers, but at least four other managers are in danger of being fired. The list starts with Cecil Cooper of the Astros, and also includes Jim Riggleman of the Nationals, Dave Trembley of the Orioles, and Eric Wedge of the Indians.
- Among general managers, Ned Colletti of the Dodgers, Brian Sabean of the Giants, and Dan O'Dowd of the Rockies are all without contracts for next year, and two of them are going to the postseason. The only GM that appears to be in jeopardy of losing his job is J.P. Ricciardi of the Blue Jays.
Cubs Rumors: Soriano, Figgins, Harden
ESPN.com's Buster Olney considers some of the problems the Cubs encountered this season and turns up some rumors along the way. Here they are:
- Alfonso Soriano's contract is about as untradeable as they come, so what should the Cubs do about it? One talent evaluator believes the Cubs should make it clear to Soriano and Milton Bradley that Jake Fox and Micah Hoffpauir will play if either veteran falters.
- Christina Kahrl blames the Cubs for relying on older players to win.
- Could the speedy, versatile Chone Figgins be a fit for the Cubs? Jayson Stark wouldn't be surprised to see Figgins sign a three or four-year deal for $11-12MM per season. It's not known whether the Cubs can afford to take on another big contract.
- The Cubs should have the inside track when Rich Harden hits free agency after the season.
Heyman On Holliday, Red Sox, Pedro, Bradley
The latest from SI's Jon Heyman…
- Heyman covers numerous examples of National League GMs mining the American League scrap heap.
- Heyman agrees with Jayson Stark's note yesterday, that the Yankees will allow Derek Jeter to enter his walk year unsigned and worry about it after the 2010 season.
- The Cardinals will try hard to retain Matt Holliday, but Heyman believes the Yankees, Mets, and Red Sox could be in the mix for the slugger.
- Heyman discusses future shortstop possibilities for the Red Sox – they could retain Alex Gonzalez or go after Marco Scutaro. He says they "don't seem anxious" to bring Orlando Cabrera back.
- Pedro Martinez is looking good, and Heyman says only the Phillies and Rangers had real interest. The Cubs and Brewers were on the fringes.
- Heyman talked to two GMs about the Cubs and Milton Bradley. One thought the Cubs could unload him by eating half his remaining $21MM; another thought they'd need to assume almost all the money. I am not a Bradley apologist; he's certainly been a distraction. But how would subtracting a .394 OBP make the Cubs' middling offense better?