Cubs insist Jaramillo hire not connected to Bradley

When word got out that the Cubs wanted to hire Rudy Jaramillo as their hitting coach, people started putting 2 and 2 together.

The Cubs say it doesn't necessarily add up to what they think it does.

Jaramillo coached Milton Bradley in Texas in 2008, and Bradley had a career year before signing a three-year contract with the Cubs.

However, things turned sour, and the Cubs suspended Bradley for the rest of the season in mid-September.

Cubs general manager Jim Hendry said Wednesday that Jaramillo's hiring is in no way connected to trying to mend fences with Bradley, whom Hendry is trying to trade.

"Obviously, hiring Rudy had nothing to do with that," Hendry said of possibly reconciling with Bradley. "Just like I told you at the end of the year, we play the cards that we have. Milton's on the Cubs roster. That's how we go about it until somebody's not on the roster. It certainly didn't have any connection. We could have had 20 different guys on our roster, and Rudy would still be sitting here to day as our No. 1 guy.

"We didn't talk about it at all in the interviewing process or over the phone over the weekend."

With Texas in 2008, Bradley had an OPS (on-base plus slugging percentages) of .999 to lead the American League.

"I tell you what, this young man has got all the talent in the world," said Jaramillo, who added he did talk with Cubs manager Lou Piniella about how he worked with Bradley. "He worked hard. It's like anything else. When he came in, I knew my job was, 'Hey, I got to win this kid over.' It took me awhile. He was a good student. He had an outstanding year for us.

"He still has a lot of baseball left. We got along great. I knew kind of what buttons to push. He started trusting me. We started getting that rapport. Things started getting better and better. He led the league in on-base percentage and slugging. His ability is still there, there's no doubt in my mind."

Bradley has $21 million and two years left on the three-year, $30 million contract he signed with the Cubs last winter, and Hendry is counting on a market developing so that the Cubs can get something for Bradley without having to eat all or almost all of the money.