The uncertainty over how outfielder/designated hitter Milton Bradley fits with the 2011 Seattle Mariners took a new edge Tuesday after he was arrested in Encino, Calif.
Bradley, who played 73 games in his first season with the Mariners in 2010, was arrested because of alleged threats against a woman, police told the Los Angeles Times. The newspaper said Bradley was taken into custody about 10 a.m. Tuesday and booked at the Van Nuys, Calif., jail on suspicion of making criminal threats. He was released Tuesday night after posting $50,000 bail.
Mariners general manager Jack Zduriencik said in a statement that the organization is treating the situation “very seriously.”
“While we do not yet have full details on what occurred, we are aware of the situation and take it very seriously,” Zduriencik said. “We are in the process of determining the full circumstances of what occurred today. Until we have more information, we will not be able to comment further.”
The Mariners acquired Bradley before the 2010 season from the Chicago Cubs in a trade that sent pitcher Carlos Silva to the Cubs. Bradley is under contract to make $12 million from the Mariners in the final year of a three-year, $30 million deal he signed with the Cubs.
Even before Tuesday’s arrest, Bradley was expected to go into the 2011 season with little assurance of regular playing time. He would go into spring training competing for the left field job with Michael Saunders and at-bats at the DH spot with Jack Cust, although new manager Eric Wedge said Saunders and Cust were more likely to get much of the playing time.
Bradley’s career has been marked with conflict on and off the field, including disputes with managers. Among them is Eric Wedge, who clashed with Bradley when he managed the Cleveland Indians in 2003 and 2004. After Wedge pulled Bradley from a spring training game in 2004, Bradley wore a T-shirt in the clubhouse with the words “(Bleep) Eric Wedge.” The Indians traded him to the Los Angeles Dodgers before the regular season began.
Wedge said earlier this offseason that he and Bradley planned to keep their issues in the past and not let them affect the Mariners’ 2011 season.
Bradley batted .205 with eight home runs and 29 runs batted in with the Mariners last year, when he suffered from a knee injury and a flareup with former manager Don Wakamatsu.
Wakamatsu had pulled Bradley from the game May 4 after Bradley struck out with the bases loaded and flung his helmet toward the dugout. Bradley and Wakamatsu exchanged words in the runway behind the dugout between innings, and Bradley left Safeco Field before the game had ended. The next day, Bradley asked for a second chance with the team and he underwent anger management before being reinstated May 19.
Bradley battled right knee problems much of the season and went on the disabled list July 31. He had season-ending arthroscopic surgery on Aug. 17 but was expected to report to spring training at full strength.
Read Kirby Arnold’s blog on the Mariners at www.heraldnet.com/marinersblog and follow his reports on Twitter at @kirbyarnold.
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