Fun and games in the clubhouse: M’s trade Silva, get Milton Bradley
Published 1:08 pm Friday, December 18, 2009
The Mariners’ clubhouse just got a lot more interesting. They have just acquired temperamental — but also productive — outfielder Milton Bradley from the Chicago Cubs in exchange for one of the bigger busts in franchise history, pitcher Carlos Silva.
The switch-hitting Bradley, who turns 32 on April 15, played 124 games this year with the Cubs, batting .257 ith a .378 on-base percentage and a .775 on-base-plus-slugging percentage. He hit 12 home runs, 17 doubles and had 40 runs batted in.
General manager Jack Zduriencik, in a conference call with reporters a few minutes ago, said Bradley probably would play left field and DH, and bat in either the third, fourth or fifth spots.
He played 109 games in the outfield for the Cubs this year with a .985 fielding percentage.
Of course, it’s the character issue that is huge in this case. Bradley is known more for the incidents of anger that have marked him as a problem player — he got into it with Lou Piniella last season and, in the final week, was suspended by Cubs GM Jim Hendry. Here’s a list of Bradley’s run-ins the Chicago Tribune put together in January.
Zduriencik said he relied heavily on opinions of people who’ve been connected with Bradley dating back to his minor league days. Among them were Mariners bench coach Ty VanBurkleo, who was with Bradley in Oakland a few years ago, and performance coach Steve Hecht, who was with him in Texas.
“There are reasons why a lot of things happen,” Zduriencik said. “In some cases, they’re realistic and other cases they’re blown out of proportion. What we’re comfortable with is this paleyr’s ability. We’re comfortable with the things I’ve heard about him. He has a big heart, he cares about this teammates and he has a strong desire to win.”
Yes, this brings back memories of the Carl Everett experiment with the Mariners in 2006. There’s a big difference here. Bradley can hit.
He’s a career .277 hitter with a .371 on-base percentage, .821 OPS and .982 fielding percentage. He was an All-Star in 2008 with the Rangers.
He spent a relatively well-behaved 2008 season with the Rangers, although there was the one incident when he bolted out of the clubhouse and toward the press box to confront Royals broadcaster Ryan Lefebvre for remarks he made on a telecast that Bradley overheard. So Dave Sims, beware.
If there is any drama with Bradley in the clubhouse, my guess is that Ken Griffey Jr. and manager Don Wakamatsu will deal with it and it won’t have an effect on the performance of the team.
Bradley will make $9 million in 2009 and $11 million in 2011. Zduriencik refused to say if this is a straight trade of two players or if money also is being exchanged between the Mariners and Cubs. The Chicago Tribune is reporting that the Cubs are getting $9 million from the Mariners. Here’s the Tribune’s story.
Silva was one of the biggest ball-and-chains the Mariners have dragged since he was signed to a four-year, $48 million contract before the 2008 season. Ineffetive on the mound and often injured off it, Silva spent most of this season on the disabled list with a shoulder problem. He leaves with a 5-18 record and 6.81 ERA in 36 games, 34 starts, with the M’s.
