Silva-Bradley Swap Near?
Larry Stone reports that the M’s may announce a Carlos Silva-Milton Bradley trade as soon as today. This deal has been talked about for a while, because of the matching salaries and the M’s need for a hitter, but the organization had made it clear to a bunch of people that they had no interest in Bradley. That makes this a pretty big surprise, honestly.
If it goes through, there are basically two reactions that we have to reconcile.
1. Milton Bradley is a significantly better player than Carlos Silva, and a much more obvious fit for what this team needs. In terms of production, the M’s just got a lot better. A switch-hitting, high OBP LF/DH is exactly the kind of player that this roster is calling for. And the price is obviously right.
2. Milton Bradley is the exact opposite of the kind of person the organization has spent the last year bringing in. He’s as far removed from Mike Sweeney as you can get. But, the Mariners never promised to have 25 choir boys on the team, and perhaps they feel that the culture that they’ve already created will allow Bradley to have another lower-maintenance season, like he did in 2008. Remember, Wak is good friends with Ron Washington, who was able to get a good full season out of Bradley in 2008.
From the how-will-he-fit-into-the-clubhouse angle, I think we all just really have to defer to Wak on this one. If he thinks he can get through to Bradley and keep him from causing significant problems, then I’m not going to say that he can’t. Very few managers have been able to, but Wak is a very impressive leader of people.
Remember, we’re not just talking about a guy whose a little prickly here. This is a dude who wore a t-shirt saying “F*** Eric Wedge” in the clubhouse when played for the Indians. He’s worn out his welcome everywhere he has been for a reason. This isn’t the kind of “clubhouse chemistry” argument where there’s little evidence that the off-field stuff matters. With Bradley, it matters a lot. He’s a constant threat of getting ejected in any given game, and a suspension is always possible. He fights with umpires, fans, teammates, coaches… odds are decent that he’s going to be offended by the Mariner Moose at some point. It affects his ability to stay on the field and produce, so this is not a small personality flaw that can be dismissed as unimportant.
But the M’s are apparently willing to take that risk. Given that Silva’s money was essentially a sunk cost, they can hold the power to just release Bradley outright without coming out of this deal looking like they got hosed. Perhaps that kind of leverage gives them confidence that they can take a chance on the guy.
If they’re right, the M’s just added a couple more wins to their roster. From a talent perspective, Bradley is perfect for the M’s. This all hinges on how well he and Wak can get along.
Comments
60 Responses to “Silva-Bradley Swap Near?”
Okay, here’s something I bet you never thought you’d see.
Carlos Silva is a hot topic on Twitter.
I’m guessing M’s are sending cash to the Cubs. From MLB.com:
Still, I love the move. Even if nickwest1976 is wrong, and we stick with Bradley on the roster, I think we’re still in way better shape than with Silva. On the other hand if it leads to something bigger and better then hallelujah.
I was always told it was impossible to get something for nothing.
I’m not so sure anymore.
In its own right, this deal is actually better than Lee, in the sense that our three prospects in that deal had projectable value…and Silva did not.
And while I have no insight into the mind and methods of Milton Bradley, I do have friends who repeated some of the things yelled at him from the bleachers at Wrigley last year. They can’t be repeated here. Beer and stupid is never a good combination, and Bradley can testify to that.
Also, if he creates a problem in the clubhouse here, isn’t that Griffey’s responsibility as well as the manager’s? That’s Griffey’s presumed value now, right?
Finally, in terms of perhaps this ushering in another larger deal, I keep looking at the depth chart for the hated Padres and seeing David Eckstein starting at second. Surely there’s someone they could get better than that!
Kazinski wrote:
“…I wouldn’t be surprised if we weren’t shipping some cash the the Cubs as part of the deal. If we ship Bradley out afterword we’ll likely have to ship more cash out. I just can’t see it happening. Stone notes that Bradley has 21m remaining and Silva 25m, and speculates the Cubs!?!?! will ship cash to the M’s to make up the difference? Huh?”
I’m with Larry on this one. Zduriencik made very clear during the Winter Meetings he wasn’t interested in a deal for Bradley that likely would have been trade cancer-for-cancer and even out salary differences, telling the Cubs to look elsewhere. They did, and there was zero interest. That the Cubs came crawling back to the M’s afterward tells me this deal will be done on the Mariners’ terms, not the Cubs’. Plus, it’s Zduriencik doing the deal….
The Cubs press release has us shipping over $9M to the Cubs in this deal…how will that in turn impact our remaining funds now?
[Piniella]
At this point, are we really even trying to not be completely blindsided by everything this front office does? And not in a bad way. It’s like we’re trying to get across a fast deep river, talking about bridges and pontoons and boats, and Jack Z just strolls across and we’re left saying “Well, ok, but I didn’t know walking on water was even an option.”
I’d love to see MB beat up the Moose*. I’d pay to see MB beat up the Moose. Potentially best YouTube ever.
*The Moose, not the guy inside. Assuming MB sticks to beating on its padded head, the guy inside should escape with nothing bruised beyond his dignity… dignity? He’s the freaking Moose!
This December has been more exciting than a lot of the seasons in the last 9 years. I’m ordering my Zduriencik jersey today.
“According to sources, Piniella then shouted at Bradley, â€You’re not a player! You’re a piece of sh–!â€
Bradley then said, â€I have too much respect for you to respond to that,†a source said.”–Chicago Sun Times.
The best thing about this move (other that getting rid of Carlos Silva), is it completely squashes all those rumors about Jason Bay, and Johnny Damon. I got sick of seeing those ridiculous rumors day after day.
I hadn’t noticed that Langerhans got a major league contract. Assuming Bradly DH’s and Saunders plays LF, that would leave our bench at:
Griffey
Johnson
Hall
Hanahan
Langerhans
Plus 9 regulars (including an unnamed 1st baseman), and 11 pitchers.