Cubbies shift focus

December 14, 2008   ·   Paul Raymond   ·   Jump to comments

The Chicago Cubs are being forced to shift their focus in the outfield thanks to the Philadelphia Phillies. The Cubbies main interest this offseason was Raul Ibanez, but after the Phillies signed him to a deal this week things have changed. Their are plenty of options on the market still but the Cubs have decided to put their focus on one man. According to the Chicago Sun-Times that man is Milton Bradley.

Going after Bradley only makes sense for the Cubs. The Cubs glaring hole last year was left handed hitting. The team had no real presence at that side of the plate and down the stretch teams took advantage of that. How? There was no need to ever change pitchers based on the match-ups. Ibanez would of been the perfect person to solve their needs, a power lefty. Bradley on the other hand isn’t a bad alternative. He can hit for power, he can fit for average and what’s even better? He’s not just a lefty, he’s a switch hitter who can hit equally from each side.

The Cubs are going to have to work hard at it thou if they want Bradley. One of Milton’s reps told the Sun-Times that his client is interested and that the Cubs are at the top of the list. The question thou is how many years and what kind of salary he wants. The lower the salary burden would bring more players to the table. The American League Champs, the Tampa Bay Rays, are very interested in Bradley but only at the right price. Should it be a lower salary then the Cubbies should be very worried about these other players.

The Rays have a lot more to offer Bradley should he not care about the money. Lessening his monetary demands would let him play in the league he knows best and also play his best position, the designated hitter. The biggest knock on Bradley has always been his health and any team signing him has to be worried about that. Only three times during his nine year career has he played over 100 games, not a good sign. To me thou Milton not caring about the money would be a shock.

Where he winds up should be interesting. Knowing Bradley and his history I’d say he goes for the money and winds up in Chicago.

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