The Milton Bradley rumors were heating up throughout the day on Tuesday. According to Bruce Miles at the Daily Herald, a deal is not imminent, but they are getting closer.
Others were more optimistic about a deal getting done soon. Bruce Levine of ESPN Chicago wrote that the Cubs were on the verge of making a deal and that it could be announced as early as Tuesday. Of course, Tuesday came and went without any news, but a team source told Bruce Miles that an announcement could come Wednesday.
Jim Hendry and his deputies are being extremely tight lipped about what teams he’s talking to. Carrie Muskat of MLB.com said that Hendry is talking to an AL team, but that it’s not either Tampa Bay nor Texas. Later in the day, she Tweeted that is was neither Seattle nor Toronto. At this point, we don’t know who the mystery team might be. All we know is who it is not.
Gordon Wittenmyer of the Sun-Times also lists a mystery team and says that the deal could involve the Cubs receiving a player that they will then have to flip. Sound familiar? Wittenmyer confirms that the deal does not involve the Rays or Rangers. This is a different rumor than we’ve heard before.
Tomorrow is the final day of the Winter Meetings. Could a deal be announced tomorrow. Let’s keep our fingers crossed. The Milton Bradley soap opera has already dragged on too long.
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Let me change gears a little bit right now and get a little angry. I’m going to have to manufacture a little anger because, the truth is, I’m really not angry. But I feel like I should be.
You see, Curtis Granderson, probably the best fit to play center field for the Cubs next year, was traded today by the Tigers to the New York Yankes (MLBTradeRumors.com has the complete story on the three-team trade). While the Cubs screwed around trying to trade a guy they should have never signed in the first place, other teams made deals, improved their teams, and got themselves ready for 2010. The Cubs just did a lot of talking.
The Cubs have a few needs they must address this off season, but everything is on hold until they can trade Bradley. So far, they have lost out on Billy Wagner. They’ve lost out on Takashi Saito, and today they lost out on Curtis Granderson. I don’t know if they could have signed/traded for any of these players. What I do know is that all three could have filled a need for the Cubs. I also know that all three are now off the board. Whether or not the Cubs would have acquired any of the three is not the point. The point is that they couldn’t even get involved on any of them (whether they wanted to or not) because their hands are tied.
Okay, now for a little reality. I know that Jim Hendry is in a tough position (at least partially of his own making). The Milton Bradley “situation” is a little complicated and it’s going to take some hard work, creativity, and time to get it figured out. It sucks that the Bradley is tying the Cubs hands, but that’s the reality of the situation. Getting angry doesn’t help.
I’m hopeful that Hendry and crew can get a deal done today before the Meetings end. There’s a window of opportunity here that is closing quickly. After the meetings, it’s harder to catch up with other GMs and be able to sit down with them at a moment’s notice. Obviously, deals can be done outside the Winter Meetings. It happens all of the time. But the Meetings do provide a once-a-year opportunity that the Cubs need to use to their advantage.
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Does the trade of Curtis Granderson to the Yankees open up any opportunities for the Cubs? Perhaps. For instance, what are the Yankees going to do with switch-hitting center fielder Melky Cabrera now? Is he expendable? Could he be a fit for the Cubs? What would the Cubs need to give up to get him?
What about Johnny Damon? It’s been suggested that trading for Granderson makes it less likely that the Yankees will re-sign Damon. If so, could Damon be a fit for the Cubs? Can he still play center field? Can the Cubs afford him? Might Damon be the lead-off hitter the Cubs are looking for.
Now that Detroit has traded Granderson, might they be open to a Milton Bradley for Magglio Ordonez swap? Detroit reportedly needs to dump some salary. Ordonez is owed $18 million in 2010 with a club (vesting) option in 2011 for $15 million. He can’t play center field, but he can still hit. Is Detroit the mystery team all of the writers were talking about?
These are just some random thoughts brought on by the Granderson trade. As they say, when one door closes, another one opens. Has another door opened for the Cubs?
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Here’s a random rumor with absolutely no factual basis. I found it on another blog, but thought it was interesting enough to share here.
Could the mystery AL team be the White Sox? And could a deal that would send Bradley to the Southside bring Alex Rios to the Northside?
This deal may not be as far fetched as you might think. Rios is owed $58.7 million between 2010 – 2014. He also has a club option for 2015 for $13.5 million with a $1 million buyout. Rios brings a relatively similar skill set to Bradley’s, but without the headaches. Of course, his contract is for three guaranteed years more than Bradley, so the Cubs are committing much more money long term to Rios. However, it could be argued that the Cubs would be better off paying more money long-term to have a servicable player than they would be to simply pay another team several million just to take Bradley off their hands.
Ozzie Guillen is said not to be too fond of Rios. The White Sox are looking for a DH who can also play in the field. At least in theory, the two teams seem to match up.
Can you imagine Ozzie Guillen trying to deal with Bradley? It could potentially be hilarious. Of course, IF they can make it work, and IF Bradley can return to his 2008 form, the White Sox could really rub it in the Cubs faces. And we all know they would love to do that.
At the moment, this trade rumor is nothing but speculation. But isn’t it fun to dream this stuff up and then try to figure how to get it done?
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ESPN announced that the Dalai Lama of baseball, Peter Gammons, will be leaving the network following the Winter Meetings. I have the utmost respect for Gammons and love to hear his thoughts on all things baseball (and music). It’s true that he is far too often Red Sox-centric (with a little Yankees news thrown in for good measure), but he’s so good, it’s easy to forgive him.
The announcement from ESPN simply said that Gammons will be pursuing “new endevors.” I’m not sure what that means, but I’ve heard that he’ll be joining the MLB Network. Whatever he does, I’m sure he’ll do great.
UPDATE: MLB.com is reporting that Peter Gammons will be joining both MLB.com and the MLB Network to be an on-air and online analyst. Gammons will also be working with NESN, the New England-based network that broadcasts the Red Sox games. The move will presumably allow Gammons to contine to do the work he loves while spending more time at his homes in Boston and Cape Cod.
