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Minor league pitcher, John Odom, was traded for 10 bats.
During three years in the low minors, John Odom never really made a name for himself.
That sure changed this week—he’s the guy who was traded for a bunch of bats.
“I don’t really care,” he said Friday. “It’ll make a better story if I make it to the big leagues.”
For now, Odom is headed to the Laredo Broncos of the United League. They got him Tuesday from the Calgary Vipers of the Golden Baseball League for a most unlikely price: 10 Prairie Sticks Maple Bats, double-dipped black, 34-inch, C243 style.
That actually was good news for the small company, Prarie Sticks.
News of pitcher John Odom’s trade to the Laredo Broncos of the independent United Baseball League, which became necessary when Odom had trouble crossing the border into Canada, was just a few hours old when it began to spread like a virus across the Internet. It moved to television, then even deeper into cyberspace once video became available. And at every turn, the name Prairie Sticks popped up.
The proof was in the PDA when Greenberg and Zinger woke up to resume their trip home.
“All these orders came in between midnight and 5 or 6 a.m. while we were sleeping,” Greenberg said.
People from California to Connecticut wanted Prairie Sticks bats.
Odom shouldn’t be too insulted, future Hall of Famer Rickey Henderson was once traded for baseballs!
Baseball men often will say of a washed-up player, “You couldn’t trade him for a bag of balls.” Technically, the Dodgers didn’t trade for Rickey Henderson. But they did give up a bag of balls. The Newark Bears, an independent minor league team, were contractually obligated to release Henderson, 44, if a major league club wanted him. But when Henderson departed, the Bears made a special request of the Dodgers, asking for a shipment of balls. The Dodgers happily obliged with six dozen, establishing a new going rate for a future Hall of Famer: approximately $130,000–the prorated portion of the minimum salary the Dodgers will pay Henderson–plus 72 balls.
Crossposted on Soccer Dad.
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Soccer Dad linked with A batty trade...
So Carlos Gomez was pulled from Winter ball as part of a trade. Frankly, Minnesota got screwed here. Both the original Boston and Yankee offers were better. Instead, rookie GM Bill Smith overplayed his hand (a phrase that’s quickly become cliched over the past week) and got a disappointing haul for Santana: Gomez, Humber, Mulvey and Guerra (the Mets 2nd, 3rd, 4th and 7th best prospects). In early December, Minny had their choice of Phil Hughes, Jon Lester and Jacoby Ellsbury – all better than any of the Mets trade chips. A Yankee offer of Ian Kennedy, Alan Horne, Melky and AJax destroys that Met offer, so perhaps it really was about the money (for the Yanks). I can’t believe the Twinkies caved and accepted an FMart-less offer. The deal still isn’t 100% done, as the Mets have 72 hours to reach an extension with Santana, but that should merely be a formality. It seems Smith was going to either (1) try to fleece an AL team, or (2) get him out of the league for the best offer he could muster.
Thank goodness the Sawx didn’t acquire him, because they would’ve been nearly unbeatable for the next three years with Santana leading the rotation. They probably could have acquired him for only Lester and Ellsbury – yes, two good prospects, but certainly not studs, and Santana would have locked up the division for the foreseeable future. Fortunately, the money seems to have been too much for them too. This is a win for both Boston and the Yanks. A true rarity.
Credit should be given to Brian Cashman for not overreacting to Boston’s (and Hank’s) interest. I’m relieved he didn’t go to Boston and that we didn’t lose Hughes, but also pissed the Mets got him for a considerably inferior offer.
The only real loser is Minnesota. If you want to feel real pity (by reading the disgusted opinions of Twins fans), visit here.
More and more teams are discovering that the most cost effective way to build a team is to draft well. Athletics Supporter demonstrates how this worked in the case of drafting Mark Mulder. (h/t Baseball Musings) If you want to build a team, invest in minor leaguers.
It might also be a way to build a portfolio. Writing in Slate – “Bullpen Market” – Josh Levin tells of a minor league pitcher’s who’s selling his future earnings.
Yesterday, I bought a professional baseball player. It only took a minute. I surfed over to Real Sports Investments, clicked the “Buy Now” button, and purchased six shares of Randy Newsom. Along with my Slate colleagues John Swansburg and Dan Engber, I am now the proud owner of 0.0096 percent of a minor-league pitcher’s future major-league earnings. Mr. Newsom, I wish you a long and prosperous career—emphasis on prosperous. If Newsom makes $1,000,000 over the course of his major-league career, the Slate investment group will take a loss, earning a piddling $96 on an initial investment of $143.82. If he makes $10 million, we’ll get $960. And if he makes Barry Zito money? I won’t be retiring early, but I’ll be able to watch my baseball-playing property on some nice plasma TVs.
The 25-year-old Newsom, a midtier relief pitcher in the Cleveland Indians organization, is the first pro baseball player to hold a self-IPO. Real Sports Investments, the company Newsom hatched last year with two ex-ballplayer business partners, is fantasy baseball minus the fantasy. Newsom is selling off 4 percent of his potential MLB earnings at $20 per share. (A 15 percent “player valuation and share allocation fee” and a 2.9 percent “online processing fee” bump the price up to $23.97). A total of 2,500 shares will be offered, netting the pitcher $50,000 if they all get sold. As of today, investors can only buy shares; selling and trading will come soon, once RSI launches a snazzier Web site. And according to Newsom, this isn’t a “one-player thing”: In an interview with Baseball Prospectus, he says RSI is in talks with lots more minor leaguers.
Once upon a time baseball cards were thought to be great investments. I suppose with the popularization of statistical analysis, they could still be, but why not invest in a baseball player. Actually, there’s a possible reason not to.
Will it work as a market? Jeff Ma, the co-founder of ProTrade and the leader of the Vegas-busting MIT blackjack team, says it’s a winning concept for minor-league ballplayers like Newsom. A ballplayer’s career carries substantial risk, Ma says, and it makes sense to shave off potential wealth in exchange for insurance against never getting a major-league payday. (If Newsom doesn’t make the majors, his investors get nothing.) Ma is skeptical, though, that players with higher earning potential will care to participate, and without these higher-tier prospects, the market won’t be as attractive to investors. “You’re not talking about Barry Bonds or [future stars like] Billy Butler or Tim Lincecum selling their future upside,” Ma says. “How many people will want to speculate on the Randy Newsoms of the world?”
My guess (especially after reading the article) is that people might invest, but probably less with the idea of making money on the deal than in being invested in a professional athlete and whatever psychic benefits that brings.
Once upon a time – maybe even as recently as 20 – 30 years ago – being a part owner of a minor league team was not out of reach for a middle class investor. Now he could, at least, invest in a minor leaguer.
Crossposted at Soccer Dad.
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Soccer Dad linked with Investing in minor leaguers...
As I’ve said before, umpires need help. And I refer you to a piece I wrote over a year ago on this very same subject. Baseball (and sports in general) is far behind the times in utilizing modern technology where it can, specifically to improve officiating.
I’ve thought about this topic for a long time. I think Questec is a good thing. (For those who dont know, it’s a computerized system that measures ball & strikes, and compares it to what the umpire actually called.)
One of the biggest and most frustrating problems in pro sports are bad calls by umps/refs. What I’d like to see is the steady removal of the so-called ‘human error’ from sports; I’ll talk specifically about baseball:
When umps are unsure when a ball is fair or foul down the line, why can’t a system be installed like they use in tennis? They could use technology to determine whether balls are just that, fair or foul.
Also, on disputed HRs, they must use instant replay. There’s no other fair way. An ump should be stationed in the park somewhere near a TV, like in the NHL. He should have the final word, since he’ll have access to the replay.
On balls and strikes, why not use Questec or ESPN’s ‘K-Zone’ (for example) to actually call the strikes? The only problem is that strike zone height is different for every hitter, but width is exactly the same, 17 inches (the width of homeplate). Rickey Henderson had a smaller up/down zone because he was short and crouched, and Richie Sexson’s up/down zone is bigger because he’s 6′8″. But their side-to-side zone is exactly the same. Therefore, computers/technology should be used to tell an umpire when a ball hits the plate or just misses. For the time being, umps will still need to call the up/down pitches (because every hitter is different), but will know for sure when a pitch crosses the corner or not. Or an ump could be assigned to determine the upper limit of each hitter’s strike zone dependent on his stance.
It also sucks when a pitcher throws a strike, but it’s not where he meant to throw it, the catcher has to reach for it, so the ump automatically calls it a ball. It doesn’t matter where the pitcher MEANT to throw the ball, it only matters whether it’s a strike or a ball.
For out/safe calls, when the closest ump feels the play is too close to call, he could send it to the ‘booth ump.’ TV technology is such today that it could be done in 30-60 seconds. Or (ala the NFL) managers should have two replays to use per game.
These steps would help legitimize the officiating and would make for fewer arguments from players and managers. You can’t argue with Questec strikes – it’s 100% consistent and 0% prejudiced (for veterans, or against rookies). Instant replay would also ensure the right call, and isn’t that worth waiting (at most) 60 seconds for – especially in close and/or playoff games?
The Braves have re-signed veteran Julio Franco but will stash him at the A-level in their farm until the September call-ups.
If the Braves qualify for the postseason, there is a good chance they will have Julio Franco on the roster when they get there.
The 48-year-old first baseman cleared waivers and accepted a minor league assignment with Class A Rome, with an agreement the Braves would bring him back to the majors by Sept. 1. That’s when rosters can be expanded for the season’s final month.
That would qualify him for the postseason roster. And Franco’s experience, defense, and pinch-hitting ability would seem to make him a more likely playoff roster choice than rookie Scott Thorman.
“He deserves it,” manager Bobby Cox said of Franco, the oldest player in the majors — he’ll turn 49 on Aug. 23 — and a popular team member in two stints with the Braves. “I mean, he hit the ball like crazy with us.”
Franco signed with the Braves on July 18 after being released by the New York Mets. He hit .250 with three doubles and seven RBIs in 11 games with Atlanta before being designated for assignment one day after the Braves acquired star first baseman Mark Teixeira from Texas in a July 31 trade.
Franco hit .333 (8-for-24) with three doubles and five RBIs in his last seven games before being dropped by the Braves, who figured he was more likely to get through waivers unclaimed than Thorman.
[...]
The plan is for Franco to report later this week to Rome and play at least a few games a week in August to stay in shape before returning to the major league roster. Cox said Franco might also play some for Class A Myrtle Beach, if he decides to take his family to the coast for a few days. “If he just plays three or four games every eight games, that’s plenty,” Cox said. “We just want him to stay in shape.”
It’s rather odd for a guy you want on your playoff roster to be facing the worst pro pitching, but I guess when you’ve played as long as Franco, it’s just a matter of not losing your physical conditioning.
Julio Franco is once again without a team, as the Atlanta Braves cut him to make room on the roster for Octavio Doctel.
 Julio Franco was designated for assignment and put on waivers Wednesday, but that doesn’t necessarily mean the popular first baseman’s playing career with the Braves is over. If he makes it through waivers without being claimed in 72 hours, the Braves would like the 48-year-old to stay with them either as a player or player-coach in the minor leagues. Franco could then be brought back to the big league team when rosters are expanded in September. But he won’t be playing much first base now that the Braves have Mark Teixeira, the switch-hitting slugger they got in a seven-player trade with Texas on Tuesday.
“We’re hoping he’ll take an assignment in the organization,” said Braves manager Bobby Cox, who said it was difficult telling Franco the news Wednesday.
Franco was dropped from the roster 13 days after the Braves signed him to a free-agent contract following his release by the New York Mets. “It’s really hard, because he’s doing so well,” Cox said. “He’s been fantastic.” The oldest player in the majors, Franco hit .250 with three doubles and seven RBIs in 11 games for the Braves, including 8-for-24 (.333) with three doubles and five RBIs in his past seven games. “He gave us spark,” Cox said, “not only catching the ball, but hitting. He was a tough out.”
Franco has indicated he would stay with the Braves if not claimed by another team.
The Braves cleared two roster spots for bullpen newcomers Octavio Dotel and Ron Mahay, acquired in trades Tuesday. Reliever Jose Ascanio was optioned to Class AA Mississippi.
One suspects Franco will once again clear waivers, as he did two weeks ago. It’s unlikely he’s an upgrade at first base for most contenders and teams out of the hunt tend not to have a lot of use for 48-year-olds hitting .250.
The Baltimore Sun had a series on the Orioles’ farm teams. Following an itinerary mapped out here, it’s especially relevant now that the Orioles have all their farm teams clustered reasonably close by.
The first profile was of Bowie. The Bowie Baysox are now in their 15th year. (Their first year, 1993, they played in Memorial Stadium. Tippy Martinez had a barbecue stand.) Since 1997 I’ve taken my children to at least one Baysox game each year. It is great family entertainment and somewhat less expensive than major league baseball. (Given the performance of the Orioles during this time, there is little reason to shell out the money to see their games.)
The first game we went to in 1997 featured the Baysox of David Dellucci and Calvin Pickering. Dellucci was the hero of the game we attended hitting a 12th inning double that drove in the winning run against the Reading Phillies.
After going to a few games I realized something: most foul-pops go to the right side. (For the physics explaining this see here.)
So we started sitting along first base. The first year we did that, 2001, Bowie first baseman Franky Figueroa hit a foul. I remember following it with my eyes. I don’t know that I moved much, but when it landed, I was in position. The ball bounced on the bench in front of me and I reflexively bare handed it on the bounce. (My children were impressed.) In 2001, the Baysox were terrible, and we were there late in the game when most of the fans had left, that gave me an extra edge.
In 2003, someone from the grounds crew saw my son, and tossed him a ball. After the game we were treated nicely and got autographs from a few players and coaches including Kris Wilken, former #1 pick Darnell McDonald and coach Butch Davis. That game wasn’t just a game, it was an experience and the children loved it.
Last year we got a foul ball. Had we been a bit quicker, we might have gotten a second. And then after the game they let the children on the field to run around the bases. When they finished, they were given a t-shirt. Needless to say the children had a great time again.
Other nice aspects of Bowie are the carousel and the free admission for children wearing a uniform. (I believe that all the Maryland farm teams have these.)
Among the players we’ve seen at Bowie have included Augie Ojeda, Jerry Hairston Jr., Brian Roberts, Mike Fontenot, Willie Harris, Howie Clark (who had an incident with A-Rod earlier this year), Aaron Rakers, Luis Matos and Jayson Werth. Here are a couple of posts related to the Baysox.
Anyway, back to the Sun article, At Bowie, zany promotions take fans’ breath away
When a team like the Baysox hovers around the .500 mark and players are being called up and sent down, building a reputation for entertainment and good service is paramount to survival. The Double-A Orioles affiliate will stop at nothing – or almost nothing – to put fannies in the seats.
That means staging last week’s Bad Breath Night, three Bark in the Park events for pooches this season (the last will be Aug. 26), a Tribute to Toilet Paper Aug. 31 and fireworks, fireworks, fireworks – 22 dates over the five-month season.
If a homeowner wanted to stage a similar 10-minute pyrotechnic display by Zambelli Internationale, it would set him back almost $5,000. By contrast, an adult general admission seat at Bowie is $9.
I believe that once the Baysox tried to get into the Guinness book of World records by giving everyone a whoopee cushion so they could have the biggest collection of people sitting on whoopee cushions at the same time. So yes some of the promotions are silly. But people enjoy them and will go as much for the promotions as for the game.
The next article in the series tells of Fans, players share special relationship between the Low-A Delmarva Shorebirds and their fans. They’re somewhat more accessible than the AA players at Bowie.
There’s Gil and Joyce Dunn, booster club leaders, who take Delmarva Shorebirds into their home, steer many of them through their first steamed crab dinner, cheer them when they’re slumping and cheer for them when they’re riding high.
And Hannah Seward, who started a Web site for the team four years ago when she was 12 — to profess her undying love — and ended up creating a site where the parents of players can see how their boys of summer are doing.
And Bob and Donna Cummings, long-time season ticket holders, who sit just behind the visitor’s dugout and admit that geography makes them tighter with the opposing players and coaches than the home team. But that doesn’t stop them from honking away on a small noisemaker when their favorite Shorebirds come through.
(From what I’ve read having local families hosting minor league players is not unique to Delmarva. I believe that also happens in Bowie. I suspect that it’s a pretty widespread phenomenon.)
If you’d like to keep up with Delmarva, Monoblogue features a Shorebird of the week, every week of the season.
Frederick fans sing a different tune tells of Keys fans who sing
We’re the Frederick Keys
Come on out support your team
Baseball is back in town
You can hear the shaking sound
Bring the family
Unfortunately other than the Key’s theme song and how the grounds crew had to fix the field, there’s not much else to the Frederick article.
The Bluefield article about the Orioles rookie team, Bluefield offers rare throwback atmosphere tells of the no frills nature of the lowest rung in the system ladder, but the one with, perhaps, the most history.
But Bluefield’s humble status belies its place in Oriole history.
“This is where Cal Ripken got on the bus to start his career,” says Bruce Adams, a minor-league baseball aficionado who, with wife Margaret Engel, wrote the book, Ballpark Vacations: Great Family Trips to Minor League and Classic Major League Baseball Parks across America. “Bluefield is the one most people haven’t experienced and if they love baseball, they should.”
In addition to Ripken, who played in Bluefield in 1978, there’s Eddie Murray, Boog Powell, Don Baylor and Bobby Grich. Dean Chance, signed by the Orioles in 1959, passed through town on his way to the Los Angeles Angels in the expansion draft and a Cy Young Award in 1964.
Last Sunday, Grich returned to town for the first time in 40 years to celebrate the Golden Anniversary and conduct a baseball clinic for local kids.
But if the 50 year relationship between the Orioles and Bluefield shows the rich history of the franchise, the article about Norfolk, In Norfolk, Tide turns from Mets to O’s tells of the Orioles’ less than sterling recent past. Four years ago the Orioles lost their affiliate in Rochester, because the Red Wings were tired of poor showings. This past fall the Orioles lucked out, because Norfolk decided that it wanted to be the location of the O’s minor league team. Norfolk terminated its longtime association with the Mets to do so. Having a farm team in Norfolk is much better than having one in Ottawa, but it serves as a reminder that not only have the Orioles been failing their fans, they’ve also been failing their affiliates.
Owner Ken Young was wooed by the Nationals and the Orioles, both looking for a Triple-A affiliation closer to home.
“It was hard to make the decision even before we knew it was the Orioles,” says Young, a food service mogul and baseball traditionalist who wears a 2000 Mets National League championship ring on his right hand. “I joked that the hardest part was that I might lose out on some more hardware.”
But Young, who also bought the Bowie Baysox and Frederick Keys in the offseason, gave up little in the switch. Season ticket sales are up slightly, the team store is selling more Orioles apparel than it did Mets gear. And with the MASN sports network on the Norfolk cable system, fans can follow their favorite players up to Baltimore.
The Orioles gained, too.
In abandoning fan-less Lynx Stadium in Ottawa in favor of Harbor Park, they gained a 12,000-seat gem along the banks of the Elizabeth River that serves as one of the anchors of a revitalized waterfront. Trains roll by the left-field fence and ships and barges glide by right field. The ballpark, 15 years old, looks a third its age because crews power wash it daily.
Norfolk’s GM David Rosenfield has some positive words for the big league team
But Rosenfield, 76, runs a tight ship, which means clean and well-lighted restrooms, a full-service restaurant down the right-field line and a huge picnic area. It’s exactly what you would expect from a man voted the “King of Baseball” at the 2004 baseball winter meetings.
Rosenfield praises the Orioles’ minor-league brain trust.
“At this level, you have some players on the downturn just hanging on. The Mets last year had six or seven guys in their mid-30s and they played like it. That’s not what the minor leagues are supposed to be about. You’re not supposed to be hanging on for a paycheck,” Rosenfield says. “The Orioles don’t put up with that.”
The oldest players on the Tides are Alberto Castillo, 37, who had two stints as backup catcher with the Orioles this season, and pitcher Tim Kester, 35. The rest of the players are 30 or younger.
With the Tides currently languishing in 3rd (out of 4 places) in their division at 45-49 and few prospects worthy of the name on the roster, I wonder how long the honeymoon will last.
Finally in If you build it they will come, the Sun reports on what it’s like to attend Cal Ripken’s Aberdeen Ironbirds.
It also includes a bit of a primer what teams look for at the lowest level of the minor leagues and at succeeding levels.
As Orioles assistant general manager and director of minor league operations, David Stockstill spends his summers on the road pruning the farm system.
“At the beginning, they’re very, very raw,” he says. “As hitters we want them seeing the pitches, judging the rotation, judging speed. When they can do that, they’re able to move up a level and then we’d like to see them hit the ball all over the field and hit the ball with authority, the breaking ball as well as the fast ball. That should get them up to the Double-A area. After that, it’s more adjustment pitch to pitch as the pitcher adjusts to them.”
Stockstill also watches how players mature and deal with stress and being away from home: “Can they handle having 10,000 people yelling at them and come back and perform?”
Orioles Hall of Fame pitcher Jim Palmer says at lower levels, the emphasis is on athleticism, good control and movement on the pitches: “Does he have a wind-up he can repeat?”
“As they go up, you want to see how they read bats,” he says. “If the batters are on their fastball, do they recognize that and go to something else? How do you do when things don’t go well? That usually happens at some point in the minors. Do you maintain your composure when it does?”
Making sure players have the fundamentals down at Double-A is important, says Stockstill, because many players skip over the highest level of the minors on their way to the majors. These days, a city that pays for construction of a 12,000-seat Triple-A stadium wants a winning team in return. So the age and experience of players has increased as parent clubs try to maintain good working relationships.
However Minor League, Major Troubles tells of mistakes the city of Aberdeen made in luring the Ironbirds. Certain development that the city was counting on never materialized. Now the city is seeing none of the expected benefits of having the minor league team in town. It doesn’t change the fact that the Ironbirds are thriving financially.
It was a good idea to give an overview of the Orioles’ minor league system. The illogical route taken is a function of scheduling. (Sometimes the scheduling’s a little odd. Recently we had considered taking in a Frederick or Bowie game but neither team was home that week. The different leagues ought to work things out so there are options of catching one or another team on a given day.)
I can only hope that it won’t be long before it will be interesting to see games at each level for the baseball and not just for the gimmicks.
Crossposted on Soccer Dad.
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Last week Aubrey Huff hit for the cycle in a losing cause for he Orioles. He became the third player this year, after Mark Ellis of the Athletics and Fred Lewis of the Giants to hit for the cycle.
The Giants have had players hit for the cycle 24 times. (Lewis’s cycle put them ahead of the Pirates.) Luke Scott of the Astros became the first rookie to hit for the cycle, when he accomplished the feat last year. Gary Matthews Jr. was the most recent player to hit for the cycle in order when he was with the Rangers last year.
The Twins had eight players hit for the cycle between 1970 and 1986 but none since.
Does the name Tyrone Horne mean anything to you? Well he’s the only professional baseball player ever to hit for the home run cycle. Baseball Guru adds
Horne’s four homers and 10 RBI helped the Travelers rout the Missions, 13-4. Horne went on to win the Texas League home run crown with 37 that year, also driving in 139.
But get this: Horne never made it to the majors in the U.S. (He did play in the Korean Major Leagues, though.) I’d add that this isn’t necessarily surprising. For someone to lead a minor league level in HR (or any counting stat) for a season, he’d have to play nearly a whole season, at least, in that league. That would mean that his team never saw that he had progressed enough to go to the next level.
Crossposted on Soccer Dad.
He was demoted back to the minor leagues in May. From the Sun-Sentinel-
Nine and half months after throwing a no-hitter and getting a triumphant ride on his teammates’ shoulders, Anibal Sanchez must start over.
The Venezuelan right-hander learned Thursday he would miss the rest of the season after undergoing surgery to repair a torn labrum in his throwing shoulder.
Alabama-based orthopedic surgeon James Andrews operated on Sanchez, who will not resume throwing for 3-4 months. The hope is he will be ready for the start of spring training.
It’s the second major surgery for Sanchez, 23, in five seasons. He missed all of 2003 in the Red Sox minor league system after undergoing nerve-transposition surgery on his throwing elbow.
Sanchez went 2-1 with a 4.80 ERA in six starts this year. His final outing was May 2 in New York, and he was optioned to Triple-A Albuquerque two days later.
As a Marlins rookie in 2006, he went 10-3 with a 2.83 ERA after a June promotion. He never threw more than 114 pitches and on Sept. 6 against Arizona became the fourth Marlins pitcher to throw a no-hitter.
23 years old and already needing to have his throwing arm operated on twice does not bode well for a long MLB career. Still because of his no-hitter, Anibal Sanchez has gotten himself a little bit of baseball immortality.
According to ESPN, the A’s have designated OF Milton Bradley for assignment, which all but ends his career with Oakland.
The Oakland Athletics designated outfielder Milton Bradley for assignment Thursday, cutting ties with a player who was expected to play an important role on the team this season.
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.
The A’s have 10 days to trade or release Bradley. Because he has more than three years of major league service time, Bradley can refuse an assignment to the minor leagues.
“It’s an unfortunate situation,” said Bradley’s agent, Sam Levinson. “Milton is healthy and looking forward to helping some club win many games this season.”
I am sure Milton will land with another team as he is a quality ball player. A team like the Twins who need a real bat in LF would be great, although I am not sure many teams would want to put up with his poor clubhouse presence. Another suitor if he made it to the waiver wire could be the Pirates. Bradley would be a huge upgrade in CF over the current platoon of Duffy/Nady/Bautista.
It is a contract year for Bradley, and he would be playing to earn a great contract if he can catch on with a team (and behave himself) for the rest of this season.
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