I hate to even think about it, but what if the Cubs can’t trade Milton Bradley?  Would they really think about bringing him back?  Would they have any choice?

The way it looks right now, trade talks are limited to the Texas Rangers and Tampa Bay Rays.  The Rangers have made it pretty clear that the Cubs will have to pick up $16 million of the $21 million owed to Bradley over the next two years.  What is less clear is who the Cubs will get in return for Bradley.  Some reports indicate that the only return would be a couple of middle-of-the-road prospects.

Tampa Bay appears willing to trade Pat Burrell for Milton Bradley, but only if the Cubs pick up all but $9 million of the money still owed to Bradley.  Burrell is owed $9 million in 2010 and Tampa Bay doesn’t want to take on any extra money (even though they’ll have Bradley for two years instead of just one year of Burrell).   

So those are the choices.  Pay Texas $16 million to take Bradley and get two middling prospects in return, or pay Tampa Bay $12 million to take Bradley and get Pat Burrell in return.  Neither option is too exciting.

Tom Rickett’s made it fairly clear in his first press conference as owner of the Cubs that he was not interested in paying another team to take Bradley.  If that still holds true after the reality of the situation is presented to the new Cubs owner, what will they do?

Bradley had a down  year offensively in 2009, but none other than Bill James expects him to bounce back in 2010.  Would the Cubs actually entertain the idea of bringing Bradley back?  How will his Cubs teammates react if Bradley suits up for the Cubs next year?  How will Bradley react to playing in Wrigley Field again?  How will the fans react when Bradley runs out to right field for the first time in 2010?

Obviously, I can’t give definitive answers to any of these questions, but I suspect the answers would not be good for the Cubs, for Bradley, or for his teammates.  I also seriously doubt that Cubs fans (especially those that sit in the right field bleachers) will simply forgive and forget.  I don’t see a Bradley return in 2010 turning out good for anyone.

And yet, what is Jim Hendry supposed to do if the best deal he can get is to pay another team $12 million to take Bradley in exchange for a player the Cubs can’t use?  Ricketts may not want to spend a lot of money to unload Bradley, but he might be better off spending even more money to get rid of Bradley AND get a player the Cubs can use.

Would San Francisco reconsider taking Bradley for Aaron Rowand if the Cubs sweetened the pot?  Could a deal be worked out with Detroit to take on one of their bad contracts (i.e. Magglio Ordonez) if the Cubs were willing to kick in a lot of money?  Who else would like to get Bradley for free (or close to it) in exchange for the Cubs taking on one of their bad contracts?

The Cubs have not done themselves any favors with the way they have handled the situation with Bradley, but I hope the current situation shows those defenders of Bradley what a real pariah he really is.  No one wants the guy unless he’s almost free, and even then, most teams still aren’t interested. 

I wish I could be a fly on the wall when Tom Ricketts and Jim Hendry sit down to discuss this situation.  What must it be like to ask your boss for $12 – $16 million to fix a problem you caused?  What must it be like to have to pay another team $12 – $16 million to take one of your employees off your hands?  Things could get ugly.

Whatever the Cubs decide to do, I hope they do it sooner rather than later.  Jim Hendry and the Cubs front office have already spent too much time and energy on Bradley.  It’s time to bite the bullet and move on.