Bradley, Lueke, And Precedents
Obviously, most of the talk today surrounding the M’s is about Milton Bradley’s arrest. This can’t be how the M’s were hoping to kick off the new year, and the fact that it comes two weeks before FanFest has to be annoying to the organization – after all, they’re now faced with standing in front of a bunch of fans before his court date (February 8th), which leaves them in the uncomfortable position of having to say something without actually saying anything.
Beyond that, the Mariners have to figure out what they’re going to do with Milton now. At this point, I think most people expect the team to take some action that removes him from the team, whether that be suspension, a move to the restricted list (the same procedure they pursued last year when he took his leave of absence), or just an outright release. Given all of the questions about how Bradley would fit in with Eric Wedge at the helm, how he’d respond to a reduced role that left him as a part-time player, and his ability to serve as the team’s fourth outfielder given his injury history, this seems like a straw-that-breaks-the-camel’s-back, even if the charges end up being dropped. Pretty much every other organization that has ever employed Milton Bradley has reached a point where they determined his baggage wasn’t worth it anymore, and this is probably that point for the M’s.
If they just want to wash their hands of the situation and be done with it, they can just release him. It’d be the no-hassle way of dealing with the issue, as no one would really question the organization if that’s the path they decided to pursue. They’d have to eat the $12 million he’s owed for 2011, but it’s a sunk cost anyway, and it’s not like it’s all that hard to find a right-handed hitting outfielder who can get 250 plate appearances and avoid causing drama for everyone around him.
The other options would be a bit trickier, as they’d likely involve the team seeking some sort of reimbursement for the wages they’re expected to pay Bradley this year. Larry Stone has a great piece on the history of teams trying to void contracts with players over off-the-field legal problems. In general, it hasn’t gone very well, as the player’s association has been able to hold teams at bay when they attempt to declare that a player has forfeited his right to be paid. It is possible that there is language in Bradley’s contract that would allow the team to pursue this course in his specific situation, but there’s no way for us to know if that’s the case or not. There’s also another factor to consider for the M’s, and that’s Josh Lueke.
The team took a pretty big PR hit last year with how the Lueke situation was handled after he was acquired from Texas in the Cliff Lee trade, but since then, the team has operated in a way that suggests that they expect Lueke to remain a member of the organization going forward. Lueke’s situation is different in many ways than Bradley’s, especially in that his offense took place while he was not a member of the organization, but he spent time in jail for his offense and the Mariners are still willing to employ him (as of now, anyway). Given their decision to acquire Lueke (and subsequently retain him throughout the off-season), it would then be hard to convince a judge that Bradley simply being arrested for making a threat would constitute behavior that would prevent them from continuing to employ him.
Likewise, it will appear somewhat hypocritical of the Mariners if they cite this incident as a primary cause for his release, but continue to employ Lueke. On one hand, the organization certainly wants to be seen as taking a firm stance against abuse against woman, but making different choices as to Lueke’s and Bradley’s futures with the organization presents some problems. They have opted to note that Lueke deserves a second chance, but Bradley has no noted history of abuse towards women that I can find Bradley has never been charged with any domestic abuse issues (though there was a 2005 incident where police were called to his home that I missed in my original research) and this charge – while serious – is not as extreme as what Lueke served jail time for. You can point to Bradley’s past problems getting along with coaches, management, teammates, and umpires as examples of why he’s run out of second chances, but all of those problems have been with men. If the organization chooses to release him on the grounds of violating a policy of abuse towards women, it will be hard to simultaneously justify Lueke’s continued employment. If one deserves a second chance, then it will be argued that so does the other.
In short, there is no easy clean fix here, unless the team decides to just take this as an opportunity to enforce a retroactive no-tolerance policy and release them both. I doubt that’s the path they’ll pursue, however. My guess is that we end up seeing Bradley placed on the restricted list, remain a member of the organization, and the team simply choose not to pursue an attempt to recoup his salary. He’d still technically be a member of the organization, but he wouldn’t be part of the team anymore. This is essentially what the Cubs did to Bradley at the end of the 2009 season, when they just sent him home to finish the year.
No matter what they do, however, they’ll be criticized from some angle.
Milton Bradley Arrested, Charged With Felony
King5 is reporting that Milton Bradley has been arrested in Los Angeles in relation to a felony on making criminal threats. We don’t have much more information beyond that, but to be honest, I’m not sure it matters much what he’s charged with in terms of his future with the M’s. Given his history with Eric Wedge, his struggles the last few years, and the team’s desire to give some young kids a chance, his tenure here wasn’t likely to last very long anyway.
Unless he is completely exonerated, I’d imagine this will be all the excuse the M’s needed to sever ties with him. Let’s not rush to judgment on whether Bradley is guilty or not, but given that he was already on pretty thin ice, this could be enough for the M’s to just throw in the towel on the Milton Bradley experiment.
M’s Avoid Arbitration With Everyone
The Mariners have announced that they have reached agreements with David Aardsma, Brandon League, and Jason Vargas, avoiding arbitration with all three. We’ll get numbers soon, but expect something like $4 million for Aardsma, $2 million for League, and $2 million for Vargas.
Jeff Francis Signs With The Royals
We were pretty sure the M’s were out on Jeff Francis once David Aardsma became untradeable, but now it’s official, as Francis landed in Kansas City today for a whopping $2 million base with incentives that could push the total to $4 million. This is exactly the kind of deal I was hoping the Mariners could offer him, but it seems like they’re just out of money, so instead of getting a pretty decent left-handed strike-thrower for the back-end of the rotation, they had to watch him take a job with the Royals instead.
With the M’s failing to come up with marginal amounts of money for the likes of Francis and Capuano, it’s probably safe to assume they’re out on anyone who will get a seven figure deal. They may still add another pitcher or a right-handed bat who could handle some left field if they end up jettisoning Milton Bradley, but the guys they’ll be targeting will probably have to accept non-guaranteed minor league deals. Unless Jack Z has a trick up his sleeve, the M’s are probably done doing anything significant this winter.
Ms sign Adam Kennedy to a Minor League Deal
And all of a sudden, the Mariners have a middle infield logjam.
Multiple sources are tweeting that the Ms have signed 2B Adam Kennedy to a minor league deal. You may remember Kennedy as the Angels’ Howie Kendrick placeholder of choice from the early part of last decade. What you probably don’t remember offhand is that from 2001-2005, Kennedy averaged 2.8 WAR per season, holding his own at the plate while providing excellent 2B defense.
Now 35 (literally now – his birthday is today), Kennedy is coming off a pretty abysmal season for the Nationals. But then again, he is also only two seasons removed from posting a .337 wOBA for the A’s in 2009. As Dave is fond of reminding us, we really have no idea how to tell when an older player is done, and when he’s merely having an isolated bad year. If Kennedy still has something in the tank this could be a nice little zero-risk pickup. If he doesn’t, or if Ackley forces the Ms’ hand early in the 2011 season, the team can cut him loose. No harm, no foul.
In news that probably only I care about, this also makes Luis Rodriguez’s chances of making the team out of ST that much more remote.
Figgins Back To Third
We all saw this coming, but Jack Z tells Kirby Arnold that Chone Figgins will be moving back to third base for 2011. The second base experiment was an unmitigated disaster, and with Dustin Ackley on the way, there was no point having Figgins take another run at it. With Figgins back at third, Brendan Ryan is clear to begin the season as the starting second baseman. If Ackley forces a promotion at some point in the summer, then they have the flexibility to have Ryan take over at shortstop if need be.
It’s only news in the sense that it the rumor is now confirmed, but it’s nice to see that the M’s are making the logical move here.
Edgar’s HOF Support Drops
This is expected, as we’d seen enough early ballots to get a feel for where this was headed, but today’s HOF voting announcement reveals that Edgar Martinez has seen his proportion of the vote drop in his second year of eligibility. After getting 36 percent of the vote last year, he fell to 33 percent this year. We have always suspected that Edgar’s only possible path to Cooperstown was the long slow road, and this simply confirms that suspicion. Realistically, with the glut of power hitters coming on the ballots over the next few years, Edgar doesn’t have much of a chance for the next decade or so.
It’s a bit sad, but it’s also reality. For the next ten years, we’re going to spend one day in early January trying to figure out what the direction of Martinez’s vote total means for his possible election in the following year. Prepare for one very long haul.
Bard Comes Back on NRI
The January Baseball Doldrums brought news that Josh Bard re-signed with the Mariners today, providing competition for Adam Moore at the back-up catcher position, or at least more competition than Chris Gimenez is likely to provide. Note also how much Bard’s comments seem to mirror those that the front office is likely to make, right down to the “at the end of the day” in the third sentence. Also that we apparently have the green light to call our new manager “Wedgie,” though I would not encourage it.
Bard only appeared in thirty-nine games with the Mariners last year, which seems off until you realize that Adam Moore and Rob Johnson caught roughly the same number of innings last year, and we also saw Eliezer Alfonzo for a while. That he was the best hitting Mariners catcher last season is equal parts enlightening and appalling. In Tacoma, however, the best hitter was Rob Johnson followed by Moore, so at least that’s moderately encouraging. Bard may see more of Tacoma this season depending on how things shake out during spring training.
Olivo Signs With M’s, Capuano Does Not
The Mariners officially announced the Miguel Olivo signing today, only about a month after it was agreed to. Timeliness is apparently not next to Godliness. To make room on the 40 man roster, Anthony Varvaro was designated for assignment. They’ll trade him to someone who will take a shot on his velocity and hope he figures out how to throw strikes. He’s not a big loss.
In actual news, you can forget the Chris Capuano speculation, as he’s agreed to join the Mets on a one year deal. It’s not Safeco, but Citi Field is another pretty good pitcher’s park, and there’s no DH in the NL, so he still did okay for himself. The M’s will have to look elsewhere for a cheap back-end starting pitcher.
Hip Surgery For Aardsma
Well, if you were wondering why the Mariners haven’t traded David Aardmsa yet, here’s one possible explanation – they announced today that he needs surgery to repair a torn labrum in his left hip. Of the two labrums you don’t want a pitcher to injure, this one’s better than the shoulder, obviously, but it’s still going to nuke his trade value for the rest of the winter. The recovery timetable should allow him to be ready sometime during Spring Training if all goes well, but he’s going to have to throw well in Peoria before any team would even consider making an offer for him.
This has a few repercussions for the team.
1. They’re basically out of money now. The only way they were going to be able to add another significant free agent was to move Aardsma and use the money that would have gone his way to sign someone else, but now that he’s going to be on the books to begin the season, they don’t have much budget flexibility left. You can probably kiss guys like Jeff Francis or Kevin Millwood goodbye – they might be able to still get in on Chris Capuano, but it’s going to be all bargain shopping for the rest of the winter.
2. Aardsma’s probably going to be here until the summer. Even if he recovers and is ready to begin the season, most teams will have given their ninth inning job to someone else, and the M’s will have to wait for another team’s closer to either get hurt or struggle before a market develops for his services. The earliest you’re probably looking at a possible deal for Aardsma is June, and that’s only if he’s pitching well at the beginning of the year.
This is obviously a blow to the organization. Even if they end up moving Aardsma this summer, the opportunity cost of being out of money this winter presents a loss, and now there’s increased odds that Aardsma will have diminished trade value at the deadline. It’s not the end of the world, but this is not good news.