Are Cubs finally nearing Bradley trade?

INDIANAPOLIS - The Cubs appeared moving closer to trading embattled outfielder Milton Bradley Tuesday night.

Although reports surfaced that a deal could happen Tuesday, one Cubs person said Wednesday was a more likely date.

It's known the Cubs expanded their list of possible trading partners past the Tampa Bay Rays, Texas Rangers and New York Mets. However, neither the Seattle Mariners nor Los Angeles Angels were in the mix, according to people around those teams.

"We're pleased where we're going," said Cubs general manager Jim Hendry. "Things aren't done until they're done. We feel that the needs we want to look into are certainly alive, and a few new things have obviously popped up that we've certainly had some interest in exploring."

The Cubs had interest in Detroit center fielder Curtis Granderson before Granderson was all but signed, sealed and delivered to the Yankees in a three-way trade. Cubs people were quick to point out that the matchups with Detroit didn't work and that they didn't miss out on Granderson because the Bradley situation was keeping them from doing other things.

Hendry did say the Cubs had moved past the initial stages of trade talks, but he said he wasn't sure something could get done before the winter meetings end Thursday.

He pointed out that in years past, the Cubs didn't make trades at the meetings but that the floodgates opened later in December.

"When you're this far into December and you're Day 3 or 4 of our routine here, hopefully, you're pinpointing areas where you feel like you can keep moving toward a possible finish line," Hendry said. "There's also some clubs we've met with the last couple days on different matters that weren't as big as others.

"You feel by the time of the first meeting you're not going anywhere, so you just kind of move backward on some and move forward on others. Between now and Thursday, we've got a situation where we're only going to be meeting with the people that we might be able to have a conclusion on at some point."

The Cubs made a $30 million mistake last winter when they signed Bradley for three years, only to have him run afoul of virtually everyone on the team. Hendry finally suspended him for the remainder of the season on Sept. 20 for conduct detrimental to the team.

It would be to Hendry's benefit to create a market, or the illusion of a market, for Bradley so that he doesn't have to eat all of the $21 million Bradley has left on the final two years of his contract.

In 124 games this season, Bradley batted .257 with 12 home runs, 40 RBI, an on-base percentage of .378 and a slugging percentage of .397.

However, the Cubs value the RBI stat even as it has been supplanted by such things as OPS (on-base plus slugging) in statistical circles, and Hendry and field manager Lou Piniella were disappointed in Bradley's RBI total.

The Cubs were unhappy at times with Bradley's attitude and conduct, and they finally had enough in September after Bradley said he could see why the team hadn't won a World Series in more than 100 years.

Since the season ended, the Cubs have been adamant that they would neither release Bradley outright nor absorb a $21 million hit on an already tight budget under new team owners.

Bradley signed with the Cubs after putting up a .999 OPS with the Rangers in 2008. Texas' interested has come and gone over the off-season. The Cubs also had entertained talks with Tampa Bay about outfielder Pat Burrell. The Mets had been involved as a possible third-party team in a three-way trade that could bring second baseman Luis Castillo to the Cubs.

That, too, has stalled. On top of it, the Cubs feel minor-league shortstop Starlin Castro will be ready as early as some point this year, enabling them to move shortstop Ryan Theriot to second base, thus making Castillo an option that could turn out to be too expensive.

<div class="infoBox"> <h1>More Coverage</h1> <div class="infoBoxContent"> <div class="infoArea"> <h2>Stories</h2> <ul class="links"> <li><a href="/story/?id=342752">Williams gets busy at winter meetings <span class="date"> [12/8/09]</span></a></li> </ul> </div> </div> </div>