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According to Peter Gammons' blog on ESPN. The Jays top priority this off season is to sign Milton Bradley.

Also, expect Toronto to make good on its promise to Milton Bradley that he is the Blue Jays' priority.

I caught the blurb on Rotoworld, but you can read it in his blog on ESPN.

Really? Milton Bradley? I think negatives outweigh the positives. If the price is right though why not.

He is one of my least favourite players in MLB so I hope we do not sign him.

He's not bad I guess but why focus on him?

Milton Bradley seems to have cleaned up his act... He was a descent offensive player last year, actually had an okay year. Ended up hitting .321 with 22 Homers and 77 RBI's.

Had a career year in OBP at .436... Kinda typical JP, getting a guy after a big year, hoping he can duplicate. I think he's an okay addition but it isn't going to take us anywhere.

I had a voucher pack last year, for 30 tickets, but I don't think I'll be renewing this year. I'm so sick and tired of baseball's ridiculous salaries. The yankees can offer CC 150 million or whatever, offer burnett 80 million, go after peavy and sheets and every quality arm available... it's just ridiculous. Boston is no different...

There should be a division in baseball that consists of the LAA, The Bosox, The Yanks, The Mets, The Dodgers. I don't think the travel would be that bad, three easten time zone teams and 2 western time zone teams. Have them all spend against 1 another and only 1 comes out, instead of having these same teams buy up all the talent, win there respective divisons, and consistently make the playoffs while everyone else has to either suck for years and build up assets, like the rays, or just hope to catch lightning in a bottle like the rockies... It's such a damn farce

Dude led the league in OPS+ this past year, and hasn't been below 108 since 2002. That's pretty damned good, and as a switch-hitter he would be a great fit in the clean-up spot.

Being the biggest nutjob in the league is a strike against him, especially as our manager doesn't always play well with others. But the biggest red flag is the fact that he has reached 500 plate appearances only twice in six seasons, and he barely crossed that threshold in '08. 450 PAs at an OPS+ 125 is infinitely better than anything we're able to field.

At the same time, this is a big-money band-aid; Bradley is going to get, at the very least, Gary Matthews money, and I'm rather hesitant about adding another massive contract when his bat will mean nothing unless Marcum and McGowan are healthy by 2010 and another solid-to-good starter (either from inside or outside the organization) is found. One blow-up or lengthy injury and it'll be impossible to move him without eating a large chunk of his deal, which is a scary thought when we're talking about a player who would do little more than keep the team afloat in the 80-85 win range.

Wow, huge risk, but if the price is right why not?

It's all about bringing guys that will get the job done and fact is he gets the job done.

Waiting on Marcum/McGowan to save us the year after is just as big a risk dude, because what if they go all Gustavo Chacin on us and aren't the same guys before their injuries?

We should take every opportunity we have and as long as this isn't the only move we make this off-season (get a better leadoff hitter + SP) then I say we go for it.

I absolutely hate him and his attitude but his offensive production is something the club can use. I think he can be had cheap too because teams are worried about his issues. Go for it JP!

I guess he couldnt be that bad but, Id love to see us build on Travis Snider and Adam Lind. We already have Wells and Rios. I think if they could player a bit better and Snider and Lind find there home in LF and DH, we could be a good team. We could do with out Milton.

I have a Gabe Gross and Jason Werth feeling coming back. We gota keep these guys and have them develop.

One has to ask ones self... milton bradley is an outfielder. And if there's one position we need it's outfielders... where/what is the plan for this guy should we sign him? Maybe there's a blockbuster deal around the corner...?

Except that Milton Bradley isn't an OF. Especially not on turf, given his injury history. He's a DH; a position which Toronto can use a serious upgrade. As part of our trainwreck at the spot, we had Greg Zaun, Kevin Mench and Shannon Stewart DH for us last year.

I know you probably could have Lind and Snider split time between DH and LF next year, but even if you aren't worried about potentially stunting their growth as fielders, to rely on both of them stepping up next year is considerably more worrying than having to rely on one of them and Bradley.

Or it could lead to us dumping Lyle, putting Lind at first, and signing a starting pitcher using some of the money we saved from Overbay. Which is my preferred outcome.

Bradley is a good hitter when healthy. The problems with him are his injury history and attitude. He simply can't stay healthy. Even as a full-time DH he's going to miss a considerable amount of time with knee or back injuries. He's not much of a power hitter either. He's more of a high OBP player (OBP's of .421, .362, .350, .370, .402, .436 respectively since 2003) with maybe 20-HR pop. No noticeable split issue for a switch hitter is a plus. He's spent the majority of his career in pitcher's parks, and then last year exploded when he finally hit in a hitter's park (Texas). Skydome is more neutral, so barring any performance hindering injuries, I'd say he's a good bet for an OPS at least above .800, if not .850+.

Hard to say where I would rank him. His injury history alone should limit his long-term contract to three years tops. If it's 3/30, it wouldn't be a bad investment considering he's younger and less likely for performance drop-off than many of the other DH options (Giambi, Ibanez, etc). If it's anything more than that though, I'd pass.

If the Jays do sign Bradley, it would be another case of JP buying high. That's what scares me a bit. Overpaying for someone who makes Scott Rolen's durability look like Cal Ripken's is not going to solve this team's problems. Give Bradley a reasonable deal that still makes him a movable asset, and that's fine.

spykelee wrote:One has to ask ones self... milton bradley is an outfielder. And if there's one position we need it's outfielders... where/what is the plan for this guy should we sign him? Maybe there's a blockbuster deal around the corner...?

Yeah, I think our outfield is the least of our worries. The middle infield, and even first base should be before it.

I love this move. Bradley has the kind of All-Star bat the Jays could really use. I know he's had issues in the past, but the guy can flat out hit.

OT but I would love to somehow get Marcus Thames. He doesn't hit for average but the guy seems to have a knack for hitting home runs in a limited number of at bats. It took him only around 320 at bats to get 25 hr last year, and with his power he could get over 40 if given a full season.

well to qoute jay z "lose some to win some". sure hes a bit of a lighning rod so we lose a bit of chemistry. however i say the positvves outway the negative. we need a bat. hopefully wells and rios will return to allstar form so that would give u 3 good bats along with a good amount of young players

yes.....once we sign Bradley to an already crowded outfield, we'll have put ourselves in a position to contend for the playoffs.

JP you're a genius!

Bradley signs with Cubs.

Is anyone that surprised he didn't end up signing with the jays? I guess our priorities weren;t that clear afterall.

Scratch another player from the list. Milton Bradley signed with the Cubs today.