Update, 2/12: According to John Hickey via Twitter, Bradley won’t be charged for threats that he allegedly made against his wife in January. Apparently, he and his wife will work things out of court.
Bradley is in the last year of his three-year, $30 million contract he signed with the Chicago Cubs before the 2009 season. He should enjoy this season in Seattle because it will be his last in a Major League uniform.
I can’t see any team signing him to a contract after this season. He has too much baggage for any team to deal with.
Update, 1/31: In an interview with KJR-AM 950 in Seattle, Mariners’ GM Jack Zduriencik said that Bradley will come into spring training and compete for a job.
“Obviously, there’s a legal process that Milton has to go through,” Zduriencik said. “As of right now, he’s a part of the organization, and we’re planning on him coming into spring training and competing for a job.”
It’s not surprising Zduriencik would have this answer. Bradley hasn’t been charged with anything yet and perhaps more importantly, he has $12 million coming to him in 2011 by hook or by crook.
Bradley has a court hearing set for Feb. 8. We should know more about this situation after that date.
Original Post: According to Geoff Baker of the Seattle Times, Seattle Mariners’ OF/DH Milton Bradley was arrested on Wednesday morning for violating California penal code section 422, which involves making a “criminal threat.” The details of the arrest are not yet known, but Bradley was released on $50,000 bail.
It looks like it’s game over for Bradley in Seattle.
And yes, it’s also game over for the 2011 “Cheesy Line of the Year by a Blogger” award, which I just won with the above sentence. It always feels good to run away with an award so early in the year.
In all seriousness, since we don’t know yet exactly what Bradley did, I am not going to comment on that. What I will comment on is that Bradley has most likely played his last game in a Mariners’ uniform.
Bradley has seemingly had issues with every team he has been throughout his Major League career and now it appears the Mariners are no different.
Considering that Bradley and new manager Eric Wedge had issues in the past during their time in Cleveland together, I can’t possibly see how he can be on the Mariners’ Opening Day roster.
GM Jack Zduriencik said he is going through process in determining the full circumstances of what occurred. In laymen terms, he means that he is figuring out contractually if he can get rid of Bradley so he doesn’t have to pay him the $12 million he is owed in 2011.
And speaking of Zduriencik, has a GM gone from chicken salad to chicken sh%t quicker than him? Last year he was the darling of baseball. He was the trendiest guy in all the land. Now he is running a mess in Seattle.
More on this story as it develops.
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