Oh dear. The Rangers have apparently signed outfielder Milton Bradley to a one year contract. The wire story I read said it’s still pending a physical, though.
That’s a bit of a comedown from the names we were talking about as outfielders, although the story said it was to be a primary DH. I never quite understood a specific player for DH, because I loved the way Johnny Oates handled the position. As a place you could dump a player who needed a partial day off, or a place to put your own guys. Signing a DH just to be DH always struck me as a very limiting thing.
Anyway, Bradley has a history of confrontations. So did Carl Everett and John Rocker when they came here, so we shall see what happens. I’m sure it’s nowhere near as bad as the reputation makes it out to be, but at the first sign of trouble, I’m sure it will be analyzed by the local media. I’m guessing they probably won’t like it.
I’m indifferent – it’s not a signing that will make me jump and down, but I don’t hate it, either.
This is one of the two players that would make Josh Lewin’s head explode with puns – the other being Coco Crisp. If we still end up with Crisp, I think Lewin might be speechless from the possibilities. ;)
UPDATE: The deal is $5 million base, plus undisclosed incentives. (Linkage)
FWIW, I’m in favor of this deal. Bradley’s got his share of baggage (injury and character issues), but his offensive potential far outweighs those risks – and the nature of the contract is as low-risk as you can get.
Expect him to get some early season ABs at DH until he’s ready to play in LF/RF.
I agree. It’s a high upside – it really feels like Carl Everett again, although Bradley is more mobile than Everett was when he signed here.