I don't know how much time I'll have to be around the computer today/this weekend, so I might as well address this now:
- As with the Chone Figgins and Cliff Lee deals, I'm talking about this before it's actually official, so this could still blow up. Keep that in mind and take nothing for granted.
- Carlos Silva is set to make $25m over the next two years, while Milton Bradley is set to make $21m. Some money would probably change hands in this deal, but they have very similar contracts, so for all intents and purposes the money balances out. This is simply an exchange of what two teams consider to be sunk costs.
- Bradley didn't have much of a year with the Cubs in 2009, but he did still post a .378 OBP, and his 5/4/3 weighted wOBA projection is .386. He has been an above-average hitter for seven consecutive seasons, and he only turns 32 next April, so it's not like he's approaching the edge of the cliff. He can swing a bat. I don't know exactly what role he would take on with the Mariners, but he would presumably spend a lot of time at DH, which means we have more or less plugged a hole with a good bat for something like $0. That's...who would've ever even thought that was possible?
- Bradley, however, is not strictly a DH - despite all those injuries (see them here!), he's still a reasonable defensive corner outfielder, meaning he could and would get time in left, presumably to spell Michael Saunders vs. lefties. Of course that's just one way I could see this working out, and I should know better than to try to keep up with this front office. What this comes down to is that, rather than add a pure DH, Z is just adding even more to the roster in the way of flexibility.
- Carlos Silva is nothing. There's a chance he could go all Jeff Weaver and bounce back a little bit after disappearing from the public eye, but he does absolutely nothing that we couldn't get from at least a half-dozen random minor leaguers already in the system, so he's no loss at all, unless you consider it a negative that Felix is losing a friend. But they'll stay in touch, and something tells me Felix will be okay given everything else that's been going on.
- Right or wrong, Bradley is perhaps the most well-known alleged clubhouse problem in baseball. The Mariners, meanwhile, supposedly have the most positive and tight-knit clubhouse in the league. If Bradley were to fit anywhere, Seattle makes the most sense, right? And keep in mind that Silva's no saint. I can't predict how Bradley will work here. There's a reason he's available for the low low cost of an expensive fat guy - he didn't pan out the way Chicago hoped he would, for several reasons. But Seattle should provide a soft landing, he'll be away from the crazy media, and given that it's not like he has a consistent history of flipping a tizzy, I feel pretty good about this.
- I can't believe it. I can't believe Z might be topping the Lee deal. I think he read my post yesterday and took it as a challenge. Touche, Jack.
- Most important thing about this whole deal: the M's are trading a guy who's expensive and worthless and getting a guy who's expensive and talented. Milton Bradley may not work out here, but Carlos Silva was guaranteed to provide nothing for the next two years. Bradley has upside. A lot of it. Jack has found a way to turn Silva's albatross of a contract into something that could help the team considerably. That's amazing. That's amazing! By spending ~nothing, we've just improved by anywhere from zero to like three or four wins.
- WHAT
- It's important, again, to emphasize Bradley's downside. He's injury-prone. He's coming off a down year. And, most notably, he's known to be a bit of a malcontent. There is no guarantee that this works out well, and if Bradley blows up, it could very well damage the team. But as for talent, he's a good find, and as for personality, there's no more supportive atmosphere than the one the Mariners seem to have built for themselves. If Bradley goes sour, that's a real problem. But if the M's and Wakamatsu handle this well, then there's no telling how much Bradley could produce. Bradley's range of possible outcomes is much broader than Silva's, and dips into the red, but because of all the potential good (and because we could just, y'know, cut him if he sucks), this is nothing short of a remarkable deal.