Milton Bradley to the A's

[Beckett95]

The Dodgers have traded outfielder Milton Bradley to the A's for one of Oakland's top minor-league prospects, FOXSports.com has learned.

 

L.A. will send Bradley and infielder Antonio Perez to Oakland for outfield prospect Andre Ethier.

Bradley is coming off a season that saw him play in just 75 games and ended with knee surgery. But before being hurt, Bradley was hitting .290 with 13 homers and 38 RBIs.

 

Ethier, 23, had a .385 on-base percentage and .497 slugging percentage last season at Class AA Midland, finishing with 18 homers and 80 RBIs in 505 at-bats while being named the Texas League Player of the Year. He was promoted to Class AAA Sacramento at the end of the season and also posted strong numbers in the Arizona Fall League.

 

Oakland will likely use Bradley in one of the two corner outfield positions, with Mark Kotsay manning center and Nick Swisher likely going to first base.

 

The Cubs and Pirates had been among the teams interested in Bradley, even though the temperamental player's two-year tenure in Los Angeles had been marked by off-the-field incidents, not to mention one major on-the-field one.

 

Milton Bradley's troubled tenure in Los Angeles is over.

 

Bradley was suspended for the final five games of the 2004 regular season for an altercation with a hometown fan who'd thrown a plastic beer bottle at the Dodgers outfielder during a game. Bradley walked over to the stands, yelled at the fan and threw the bottle back into the crowd.

 

In 2005, Bradley had a run-in with teammate Jeff Kent in which he questioned the second baseman's leadership and said it stemmed from Kent's inability to "deal with African-American people."

 

Other incidents during Bradley's short stint in L.A. reportedly included three visits from the police for alleged domestic-violence incidents and a verbal altercation with a Los Angeles Times reporter, in which he called the writer an "Uncle Tom."

 

Bradley had met with Dusty Baker on Dec. 6 in an attempt on the Cubs manager's part to gauge whether the outfielder was worth the risk.

rotoworld

[26 to 6]

Bad move for Oakland IMO. Whatever though, its not that bad I suppose.

[jimmycarter05]

Very stupid for Oakland, they got a loudmouth CF for their best OF prospect, pretty dumb if you ask me

[ahhchon]

they also got a former top prospect 2b that was being blocked by jeff kent. in 259 at bats last season he had an obp of .360 and was a hair under a .300 batting average. if he can further learn to improve his plate discipline like he did from AAA he'll be a force to be reckoned with at the plate.

 

did i forget to mention that bradley is a solid defender and definately a good hitter? the guy can take walks, get on base at a well above average clip and can hit for power. in 2003 his VORP was 52.6, that was at age 25. he's still only 27 and should get better.

 

calling an a's trade dumb is pretty much dumb in itself. beane is rarely incorrect.

 

john

[Manny Goes Boom]

It's like having Artest or TO, if you can deal with it then you will reap the rewards. Bradley is a very good player and ahhchon has a point, Beane is very intelligent when he makes trades.

[ahhchon]

well it's not quite like artest or to. artest is a GREAT defensive player and an above average offensive player. TO is a GREAT offensive player. bradley is just a solid defender and an above average offensive player.

 

the a's basically traded a top prospect for a former top prospect (who hasn't been given enough time in the majors due to jeff kent) and milton bradley. so far it's a great deal.

 

john

[BoSox84]

Over under of 5, on the number of times Bradly goes nuts this season.

[ahhchon]

haha, definately under.

 

john