Odds & Ends: Padilla, Acta, Gillick, Bradley
More links from around the majors as we await the continuation of the NLCS…
- Vicente Padilla, who starts for the Dodgers this afternoon, tells Ben Bolch of the LA Times that he's not thinking about his next contract. Padilla will be a Type B free agent after the season.
- Manny Acta is interviewing for the Astros managerial opening today, as MLB.com's Alyson Footer notes. Acta has already interviewed for the Cleveland job.
- MLB.com's Brian McTaggart would like to see Bob Melvin manage the Astros.
- Longtime MLB GM Pat Gillick tells Yahoo's Tim Brown that he has no interest in becoming the Padres' GM.
- Brewers GM Doug Melvin tells Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel that the team isn't likely to announce its next pitching coach today.
- Bruce Miles of the Daily Herald says the Cubs are still discussing a possible Milton Bradley trade with a number of teams, though no move appears imminent.
- Miles expects the Cubs to lure hitting coach Rudy Jaramillo away from the Rangers.
Giants Rumors: Sabean, Bochy, Bradley, Kikuchi
A few notes on the Giants from Andrew Baggarly of the San Jose Mercury News…
- As Luke mentioned last night, Baggarly expects manager Bruce Bochy and GM Brian Sabean to sign new contracts shortly.
- Baggarly asked a Giants executive with veto power whether he'd approve an Aaron Rowand for Milton Bradley trade. The exec said yes, which makes sense with Bradley owed $21MM and Rowand owed $36MM. Nonetheless Baggarly does not expect the Giants to get involved on Bradley due to potential team chemistry issues.
- Giants scouting director John Barr recently returned from Japan, where he observed hard-throwing high school southpaw Yusei Kikuchi. Baggarly expects the Giants to "make a legitimate run" at Kikuchi if he chooses MLB. The Giants are at least one of ten teams in on the pitcher.
Odds & Ends: Bradley, Lackey, Padilla
Bonus afternoon links:
- Yahoo's Tim Brown reports via Twitter that Tampa Bay "will only consider acquiring [Milton] Bradley if Cubs eat so much [of his] salary [that the] Rays could release him at any time without financial hit."
- John Harper of the New York Daily News wants the Mets to pursue John Lackey as "people around the Angels" view his return as unlikely.
- Vicente Padilla is grateful for the opportunity he has been given with the Dodgers, writes MLB.com's Jesse Sanchez. The Dodgers picked up the righty for the prorated portion of the minimum salary after he was released by the Rangers in August.
- Newsday's Ken Davidoff brings us a strong quote from Yankees GM Brian Cashman on Carl Pavano: "He took a lot of crap, and so did I…Do I blame him for it? No, I don't. I don't think he laid down on us."
Baseball Blogs Weigh In: Bradley, Burrell, M’s, Jays
On this date 43 years ago, Frank Robinson accounted for the only run in game four of the World Series with a home run, completing a four game sweep. It was Robinson's first season with the Orioles, having been traded to Baltimore the previous winter for Jack Baldschun, Milt Pappas and Dick Simpson. With the regular season over, rumors of trades that could impact next season's World Series have already begun. Let's take a look at what is being written in the Blogosphere…
- Jorge Says No! sees the Mariners as a nice fit for Milton Bradley.
- Blue Jay Hunter looks at what it might take for the Blue Jays to land Bradley.
- Trop Talk breaks down the arguments for Bradley, and yet still wants the Rays to stay away.
- Dock of the Rays explains why the Rays are so eager to rid themselves of Pat Burrell.
- Rays Index notes that the Burrell-for-Bradley rumor still has a number of unanswered questions, even if the deal comes down to just money.
- The Rays Party is not thrilled with the idea of the Cubs dumping a player on the Rays because of personality issues.
- Cubs Locker wants Bradley out of town, even if it takes cash and a relief pitcher.
Cork Gaines writes for RaysIndex.com. If you have a suggestion for this feature, Cork can be reached here, and followed on Twitter here.
Baseball Blogs Weigh In: Bradley, Burrell, M’s, Jays
On this date 43 years ago, Frank Robinson accounted for the only run in game four of the World Series with a home run, completing a four game sweep. It was Robinson's first season with the Orioles, having been traded to Baltimore the previous winter for Jack Baldschun, Milt Pappas and Dick Simpson. With the regular season over, rumors of trades that could impact next season's World Series have already begun. Let's take a look at what is being written in the Blogosphere…
- Jorge Says No! sees the Mariners as a nice fit for Milton Bradley.
- Blue Jay Hunter looks at what it might take for the Blue Jays to land Bradley.
- Trop Talk breaks down the arguments for Bradley, and yet still wants the Rays to stay away.
- Dock of the Rays explains why the Rays are so eager to rid themselves of Pat Burrell.
- Rays Index notes that the Burrell-for-Bradley rumor still has a number of unanswered questions, even if the deal comes down to just money.
- The Rays Party is not thrilled with the idea of the Cubs dumping a player on the Rays because of personality issues.
- Cubs Locker wants Bradley out of town, even if it takes cash and a relief pitcher.
Cork Gaines writes for RaysIndex.com. If you have a suggestion for this feature, Cork can be reached here, and followed on Twitter here.
Cubs, Rays Talking Milton Bradley
FRIDAY: ESPN's Buster Olney says "it's very much a longshot that this deal gets worked out."
THURSDAY: The Cubs are focused on one particular trading partner, as they look to move Milton Bradley. Chris De Luca of the Chicago Sun-Times hears that the Cubs are pushing the Rays to make a quick deal.
De Luca suggests the Rays could send Pat Burrell to the Cubs for Bradley. Burrell has $7MM remaining on his contract and Bradley has $21MM remaining on his, so the Rays would likely want the Cubs to cover a considerable amount of Bradley's contract in any deal.
The Blue Jays and Padres are possible destinations for Bradley, but the Blue Jays have a new GM (Alex Anthopoulos) and the Padres haven't yet named a permanent GM. As De Luca points out, it's doubtful that either club would want to acquire Bradley to kick off a new regime given the outfielder's volatility.
Cubs Rumors: Bradley, Grabow, Reed Johnson
Paul Sullivan of the Chicago Tribune and Gordon Wittenmyer of the Chicago Sun-Times discuss the Cubs' offseason plans in new articles today.
- Both writers agree that unloading right fielder Milton Bradley (owed $21MM) is at the top of GM Jim Hendry's to-do list. Wittenmyer's sources suggest the Cubs might be able to move Bradley without eating 80% of his contract. Sullivan believes the Cubs could kill two birds with one stone by trading Bradley for their desired "RBI guy," one who carries an equally poor contract. Magglio Ordonez and Jose Guillen come to mind for me. However, the Tigers would have no motivation to make the swap and the Royals are not interested (it's a poor match on money and handedness anyway).
- Sullivan says lefty reliever John Grabow wants a three-year deal, and the Cubs "are likely to give it to him." That'd be overpaying, based on last year's market for lefty relievers.
- Sullivan believes Jake Fox and Mike Fontenot are trade candidates. Fox might be a good fit with an American League club.
- Will the Cubs opt for a cheap backup outfielder in Sam Fuld, or will they re-sign Reed Johnson?
- Neither writer expects the Cubs to trade Carlos Zambrano.
Cubs Might Not Trade Milton Bradley
Milton Bradley could be back with the Cubs in 2010, reports Carrie Muskat of MLB.com. In a session with reporters in which he characterized this season as "disappointing", GM Jim Hendry left open the possibility of the troubled outfielder staying put this winter:
"You deal with the cards you have now," Hendry said. "Right now, he's still a member of the Cubs…Until people come or go, you have to play the cards you have now."
Recently, it has been reported that the Padres could reunite with the 31-year-old. The Royals and Rangers, on the other hand, are not interested in dealing for Bradley. In a radio interview, Lou Piniella hinted that Bradley would don another uniform next season.
Bradley is owed $21MM over the next two years and the Cubs would likely have to swallow a portion of his contract in a trade. Does it make more sense for the Cubs to try and iron things out with the right fielder who is only one year removed from back-to-back ~1.000 OPS seasons, or is he simply not worth the trouble? Let's hear your thoughts in the comments section.
Rangers Aren’t Interested In Bradley
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.
Piniella Hints That Bradley’s A Goner
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.