Cubs trade “Clubhouse Cancer” for a player who does not deserve a roster spot.
December 18th, 2009 | by Mark |Ok, so by now you’ve heard that the Cubs finally traded Milton Bradley today to Seattle for Carlos Silva and $9 million in Cash. What do I think of the deal? Well, I think that Jim Hendry got screwed!
What it comes down to is this, you know a player is bad when the trading team is willing to take Milton Bradley AND PAY YOU $9 MILLION.
Carlos Silva’s contract is considered one of the worst contracts in baseball, even worse than any of the contracts Jim Hendry has signed, which is saying a lot. Silva missed much of 2009 with a shoulder injury and wasn’t effective when he did pitch (8.61 ERA in 30 IP). He wasn’t much better in 2008 compiling a 6.46 ERA and a 4-15 record, while battling weight, back and arm issues.
Thus, the Cubs basically traded their clubhouse cancer for a worthless player. At least Bradley has a chance to make a comeback in a more low-key, less media intense city. Silva’s career on the other hand is pretty much toast.
Even if Silva comes back healthy (a big IF at this point), I would hope the Cubs would be smart enough to never let him see the active roster. Send him to the minors or release him, but don’t try to justify acquiring him by making him your 5th starter. At best, the Cubs could probably use him in mop-up duty, but nothing more.
Overall, Jim Hendry was an idiot when he signed Milton Bradley for more money than he was worth (and he admitted as much today in his press conference). The poor return he got for Bradley pretty much drives this point home.
However, the silver lining in all of this is that the Cubs save $6 million in the deal and now can finally pursue a center fielder. In fact, there is already a rumor out there that the Cubs are close to signing Marlon Byrd. Keep your fingers crossed.
Tags: Carlos Silva, Jim Hendry, Marlon Byrd, Milton Bradley
By Big Dan on Dec 19, 2009
The Cubs did this as a money saving trade. They can release Silva and still spend less money than if they had released Bradley. My opinion is that Bradley is a much more productive “cancer” than Silva so make him earn his contract. If he wants to be that “cancer” still, then release him and let him never sign anywhere for more than a year and definately for little money.
By Mark on Dec 21, 2009
Yeah, I know the Cubs did this primarily to be rid of Bradley and free up some money for other pursuits, but after hearing rumors of Aaron Rowand, Pat Burrell and Kevin Millwood, you would have thought the Cubs could have at least acquired a servicable major league player.
My basic premise is that, if Hendry or Piniella feel they need to keep Silva on the roster to “save face” after the Bradley blunder, then they are just compounding their mistake.