Rays Acquire Chad Bradford

Chad Bradford has long been one of the most reliable relievers in baseball, and though he doesn't overpower anybody and strike everyone out, he always gets the job done. I'm glad to see him go to a strong organization and I'm glad to see the Rays strengthen their already deep bullpen.

false - he sucks. He never gets the job done when it matters and hes not versatile at all. IM pumped to start blowing him up in the AL EAST

Bradford is great in a game with a 4-5 run lead; hes not going to walk anyone or give up a bomb. Hes usually good for 2 innings if needed.

But you do not want him in any sort of pressure situation. He gives up way too many hits, and never can get a K.

I can think of at least one bomb he's given up this year, but at least it was historic - Manny's 500th! If nothing else, he's the answer to a trivia question for life now. I wonder if his presence will have any effect on the roles of Grant Balfour and Dan Wheeler, to name a couple.

hatt, you obviously don't know what you're talking about. He's been in the AL East all of this year and last, and has been one of the most consistent relievers in the American League. He's sporting a 2.56 ERA and a 1.22 WHIP. Obviously he doesn't strike anyone out, but he doesn't walk batters either. His submarine style gets a ton of ground balls, and plenty of double plays. The Rays bullpen should be nasty.

Chad Bradford has a career line of : 34wins and 28losses, a 3.31 ERA, 520appearances, 486and1/3 innings, 11saves, 487hits, 206 runs allowed(179 earned), 26HR's allowed, 303 strikeouts, 127 walks, 28 hit batsmen, a 1.26 WHIP, and a 2.39 K/BB ratio. Those seem pretty solid to me.

It will be interesting to see who the PTBNL is. Fernando Perez, Joel Guzman, Elliot Johnson, and James Houser seem like the most likely possibilities.

I'd like to see Joel Guzman get a shot over there. He's got the power potential, he just hasn't put it together at the big league level yet.

Wow, the Rays must have had atleast a decent waiver position? I'm surprised many other contenders in the AL would pass on him...

Prediction: the PTBNL will not be anyone notable and will not play in the Majors.

When will we find out who the O's get?

I just finish reading the chapter in Moneyball about Bradford and come onto this website and see Chad Bradford traded. It was kinda creepy.

Looking at the stats posted by DirtyThirty, I would said that is a damn good addition. 26 homers in 486 innings? that is ridiculous.

bduke13 - The player in return is probably tied to either how the Rays as a team perform over the rest of the season or how Bradford does for them.

Dave, not to be mean, but as Tim had said in the article

"Aside from the Angels, all the other American League teams passed on the chance to claim Bradford."

The Rays have the next to last waiver position in the AL as they have the 2nd best record at the moment.

I'm more interested in who is getting sent down than the PTBNL...

WMattW...I could care less if you are mean or not...

I read the post above and I am still shocked that no other team made a claim.

And I don't understand who you are talking about 'getting sent down?' Eyre got designated to make room for Wood, who would be sent down?

I don't mean to be mean, but Tim's post said he predicted an individual unknown and not in the majors...

Dave,

I am only talking about this transaction for the Rays, I don't care about Eyre.

The Rays had almost the worst waiver position so your comment "Wow, the Rays must have had atleast a decent waiver position?" is off base.

As for other teams not making a claim, I don't understand it either.

As I said before, I'm not worried about what the Rays are going to give up as it won't be a player of significance (as Tim has said).

I am more interested in the player being sent down to make room for Bradford than the person being traded.

I hope you can understand what I am getting at. Have a nice evening/day.

The PTBNL is better than you think.

You guys are arguing semantics. It has absolutely no bearing on the player's value or quality where he was claimed. It could be the first (worst) team or the last (best in the other league). It's hardly shocking that a bunch of non-contenders would pass on an aging middle reliever who, while not expensive, isn't cheap either. Forget his stats...which, for the record, are stellar this year...it's a waste of money. Which brings us to the handful of contenders in the league. Some have legitimate bullpen needs; others don't. Some have a high opinion of a player, others don't. Some are flush with cash; others are not. To make any player assessments based on the acquiring team's waiver position is simply ignorant. Not Hattshat ignorant- only a complete homer blind to the rest of baseball would blather on about Bradford getting punked in the AL East...when he's BEEN THERE THE WHOLE TIME!- but ignorant nonetheless.

Also, I'd be wary of mistaking Tim's opinion for the word of God. While there's a certain subjectivity to 'anyone notable,' it seems unlikely that the Orioles would risk their other young rotation and bullpen arms simply to dump a couple mil. We're not exactly talking about a cash-strapped organization here. Sure, it ain't the Cubs, Yankees, or Red Sox, but they are among the next tier and have, in the past, regularly spent heavily. Bradford wasn't SO expensive or disappointing as to give him to a division rival for a couple Low A relievers and a monogrammed lint brush.

Beau is almost certainly correct; the PTBNL will probably depend on performance; were I to guess, I'd say team performance...specifically a post-season appearance. If the Rays remain on track and do, in fact, make the playoffs, I think Tim will be somewhat surprised...as basemonkey alluded to, it may very well be a potential impact player.

raysrule's list is probably pretty close. A couple other names to think about: Jason Hammel, Mitch Talbot, the pitcher going to the Olympics (I don't feel like looking up his name), Heath Rollins, Matt Walker, and...as a long shot (and to give the O's fans something to hope for) Nick Barnese.

Not top prospects (Bradford IS a 33 year old middle reliever), but 'notable' nonetheless...

I stand corrected:

"I can use the dough." -Andy MacPhail, talking about the Bradford deal.

Please God tell me that he's alluding to making a big free agent signing and NOT just putting a new level on Peter Angelos' house (and, for that matter, it'll be a play for CC instead of Tex, who's not worth the money).

Being an O's fan is like getting kicked repeatedly in the crotch by your best friend. You just sit there going, "Why?!" while writhing in pain.

I can guarantee it won't be for CC. Acquiing pitching through FA rarely seems to workout these days anyway I feel like, atleast for the ridiculous contracts they get.

I only said it was prolly a better prospect than Tim thought because, with the Rays, they are a division rival, and, they have such a plethora of prospects that they can't protect everyone in the offseason. So there is some incentive to trade a player they may lose anyways. Anticipating that unavoidable future move is good baseball management. PTBNL players are sometimes players who get pushed off that protected list, guys who for whatever reasons, have a mixture of circumstances that keep them seen as "projects" and don't pre-empt keeping over other better thought of prospects. The Os got Guthrie more or less a similar way from the Indians. Keeping track of PTBNL players from the better systems in baseball is important.

Examples of recent players who were PTBNL players under those same circumstances are Jeremy Bonderman, Moisés Alou, Jason Schmidt, David Ortiz.

I'm surprised that the big money teams lokking for bullpen help didn't claim Bradford. The Yankees and Red Sox should've claimed him. Even though the Yankees got Marte, they traded Farnsworth and still could use a bullpen piece. The Red Sox were looking for bullpen help at the deadline. And both of these teams just pass him up and let him go to the rival Rays. The Tigers also have a lot of money and even with Farnsworth need more bullpen help. The Rangers could've put in a claim as they think they're still contending. The White Sox could've for depth in the 'pen. I can't believe so many teams passed.