Cubs Still Trying To Move Milton Bradley

There haven't been as many rumors this winter circulating through Chicago about a Milton Bradley trade as most Cubs fans would probably like to hear.  Which, in my opinion, isn't exactly that much of a surprise.

All the drama that took place with Bradley in Chicago last season and the accompanying newspaper articles, columns and blog posts?  Yeah, those get read outside of Chicago too.  If there was a front-page article in the Chicago Tribune about how your house had a termite problem, a cracked foundation, a lot of water damage and was built atop an indian burial ground, I'm guessing you'd have a really hard time trying to sell that thing.  Even if the housing market was strong.

So it's not like there are 30 bidders knocking down the Cubs door trying to take Bradley off of their hands.



If the Cubs are going to move Milton via trade, it's going to have to be for another player with a similar contract that some other team just wants dump as well.  So it's a good thing the New York Mets have just such a player they'd be willing to pawn off on the north siders.  Or is it?

The Cubs continue trying to find ways to move Milton Bradley in packages that would bring them second baseman Luis Castillo from the Mets. The latest, according to sources, is a three-team deal with the Rangers that would send send the Rangers' No. 1 starter, Kevin Millwood, to New York.

A source with the Cubs believes this proposition has legs, saying, "there's a deal to be made there.'' But the Rangers haven't committed to the return of Bradley, who played in Texas before signing with the Cubs, and would need the Cubs and maybe the Mets to kick in money to pay most of the $21 million remaining on Bradley's contract before doing any deal.

Here's the problem with this deal.  If the Rangers are willing to get rid of Kevin Millwood, then it should be the Cubs talking exclusively with Texas.  Leave the Mets and Luis Castillo out of it.

Castillo used to be a very nice player for the Florida Marlins, where he would routinely hit over .300 and stole at least 20 bases a season -- with a career high of 62 in 2000.  Now he's a 34-year old second baseman whose defense has suffered the last few years and is obviously on the downside of his career.

He's not a horrible player by any means, but he wouldn't be as useful to the Cubs as Millwood.  After all, the team won't have Rich Harden back next season and they have a hole in the rotation to fill.  Millwood, who is also 34, had a great season for the Rangers last season going 13-10 with a 3.67 ERA.

Now the record wasn't fantastic, but a 3.67 ERA when you pitch half your games in Arlington is stellar.

He's also made 29 or more starts in each of the last five seasons in Texas, so he's a lot more reliable than Rich Harden ever was in Chicago, if not as electric.  Then there's the fact that pitchers always seem to flourish these days when they make the change from the American League to the National League (Millwood was 98-64 in his 8 seasons with the Braves and Phillies).

So if the Rangers are considering taking Bradley back, the Cubs should leave the Mets out of it and negotiate for Millwood.  Yes, they'll have to cover some of the remaining money on Bradley's contract, but the team can afford it and it would make the team better in 2010.