Baseball Toaster: Dodger Thoughts : A's To Part with Milton Bradley

A's To Part with Milton Bradley

2007-06-21 09:24

by Jon Weisman

In news that caught me off guard, Oakland designated ex-Dodger Milton Bradley for assignment.

Bradley was activated from the disabled list Wednesday and went 0 for 3 with a walk. He was 19 for 65 with two homers and eight walks (120 OPS+) for the A's this season.

Here's what beat writer Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle had to say in the immediate aftermath:

There is no further information yet; GM Billy Beane is expected to talk to reporters later today. One possibility is that the A's believe that Bradley will clear waivers (very possible, considering his injury history); another is that they have a possible deal in place to trade Bradley; or perhaps, with some roster crunches looming, the team has just decided to part ways early with a player who has spent much time on the DL and who will be a free agent next season.

There are any number of possible reasons, really. It's tough to speculate. The one thing that has been the case during Bradley's A's tenure: He repeatedly has said how comfortable he feels in the clubhouse and how much he enjoys playing for the A's. If this is a situation in which he does move on, for whatever reason, he cannot be too happy about it. Oakland has been a nice spot for Bradley.

But Joe Stiglich and Eric Gilmore of the San Jose Mercury News reported the following:

He took a called third strike in his final at-bat and appeared to have some heated words for home plate umpire Tim Timmons until Geren came out to pick up the discussion.

Bradley was still upset about something as he left the A's clubhouse after the game. As he climbed the stairs just outside the clubhouse, Bradley threw a couple of plastic chairs down the stairs and shouted expletives.
General Manager Billy Beane said he and Bradley had a discussion but described it as a "private thing."

"He wasn't that upset when he left (the meeting)," Beane said. "You just never know. We'll check on him (today)."

More at The Griddle and Catfish Stew. Twice. Baseball Toaster is all over this story!

Comments

2007-06-21 10:31:54

1. silverwidow

He could help this offense. ;)

2007-06-21 10:35:02

2. Ken Arneson

Jon, you need to fix the date on this post so that the top four posts on the "Hot" list are all Milton Bradley stories.

2007-06-21 10:39:24

3. Jon Weisman

2 - Alas, more new stuff on top.

2007-06-21 10:40:20

4. Eric Stephen

I'm anxious to see what the latest offense was, but this definitely pushes Elijah Dukes to a corner OF spot on the All-Crazy Team.

That said, I always liked Milton on the Dodgers. The Ethier trade has worked out well for the Blue Crew, but I still thought it was weird that the Dodgers were the ones trading two major leaguers (Bradley & A.Perez) for a minor leaguer. It just seemed like the inverse in quantity of other trades (multiple prospects for 1 major leaguer).

2007-06-21 11:06:30

5. Eric Stephen

As of this very moment, a recap of the trade:

Dodgers get:
Ethier - 673 PAs of .295/.351/.457 (107 OPS+)

A's get:
Bradley - 480 PAs of .279/.371/.447 (115 OPS+)
A.Perez - 109 PAs of .102/.185/.204 (BB-Ref says 3 OPS+, but I think it's 55 OPS+)
Total - 589 PAs of .245/.337/.401 (104 OPS+)

Surely, the A's got superior defense out of Bradley, but given the circumstances of the trade (Dodgers decided Bradley had to go no matter what, and everyone knew it) the Dodgers came out quite well. But we already knew that.

This just gives the deal closure in some respects.

2007-06-21 11:13:35

6. D4P

I wonder if San Diego (esp. DePo) will be interested in Milton.

2007-06-21 11:25:36

7. Eric Stephen

6 SD certainly needs outfielders. Giles has been hurt, and they've had to play two of Jose Cruz, Terrmel Sledge, and Hiram Bocachica recently.

Plus, regarding the Barrett trade, Kevin Towers checked with Maddux about Barrett, and Maddux said something like "anyone could fit in this clubhouse."

2007-06-21 11:27:31

8. jelmendorf

I'm confused by the Chronicle speculations. If the A's had a deal in place to move Bradley, why DFA him rather than just make the deal?

Does she mean that they think they can get a deal, but don't want to wait around, and figure this will put a timeline on things?

I can't imagine there aren't a number of teams who'd take a chance on Bradley if the cost was only $2 million, with no long-term commitment.

2007-06-21 11:36:57

9. D4P

Have there been any Beane-Depo trades...?

2007-06-21 11:40:27

10. Jon Weisman

8 - It's pretty weird.

2007-06-21 12:02:10

11. bojangles

Will there be enough room for the stand-up apologies from all the die-hard Bradley
guys, who thought Billy had stolen again?
This guy is such a typical combo of bad acts and injuries, and decent but unspectacular delivery on "five-gift" promise (this is a winner for stats over scouts) - I've always been puzzled by the passion of his gang(s).
In a related sphere, I almost always enjoy
Cabrera-Moon's posts. But can I urge him to
somehow intensively scout the increasing mass of Miguel the next few weeks, see how his attitude on the bases, in the field, and sometimes even at the plate (watch him turn easy doubles into singles while admiring the rules of gravity and force and flight)) - and, after such intense, in-game looks, tell me 1)is this guy worth having, given his manifest indiscipline in all phases of the game, which will come in a bag along with his impressive natural gifts, 2) if he is, what might be a fair price for the high rewards, given the multiple risks, 3) what would be his overall impact, beyond the numbers, on a young-for-a-while roster, 4) what would a typical Boras do-whatever-y'wan't-for-the-rest-of-your-baseball-life contract be on his psyche, and 5) should the Dodgers, at your urging, give him that kind of deal, where will other discretionary payroll dollars come from to ease the kinds of roster mistakes Ned, Logan and Co are bound to continue making (since they will have spent considerable talent capital in this acquisition, thus diminishing that pool as well)?
While I'm at it, will the fans of Glaus and Dunn and Texeira do the same? Actually watch these guys in action for a time that allows witness to their good stuff and not-so? And do a serious CBA? And in the case of some, keep in mind (Jeff Kent) defense counts?
I said this winter, pre-deals, I hoped Ned would not do anything, just stand there. I'm hoping the same now....

2007-06-21 13:58:54

12. Ben P

AP includes this context, for what it's worth:

Bradley had been on the disabled list three times this year and was frustrated that the team waited two extra days to activate him this week because of uncertainty about third baseman Eric Chavez's health.

Asked Tuesday how he was feeling, Bradley curtly responded, "I'm healthy and on the bench." Bradley was activated from the DL the following day and went 0-for-3 with a walk.

2007-06-21 14:19:55

13. Ben P

And from Blez at Athletics Nation:

Buster Olney was just on ESPNEWS Hotlist discussing the DFA with Milton Bradley. He said that he had just spoken with Billy Beane and Billy told him that Oakland is overloaded with outfielders and they knew that on the horizon there was going to wind up being a playing time issue with Milton because of Travis Buck's emergence, Kotsay's return from the DL and Nick Swisher being an outfielder. They thought that it would be an issue with Milton down the road so let's designate him for assignment now and look to make the best deal.

2007-06-21 17:05:54

14. Borchard504

I always enjoyed MB's passion, if you can call it that - I find that unique in professional sports. I can identify a little, finding it hard to be political, in my corporate world. The best of luck at his next stop.