Cubs' Deal With Bradley is High Risk But Could Be Extremely High Reward

Jim Hendry has his guy.  Will he stay healthy?  That's the $10 million dollar question. 

What we know about Milton Bradley is he plays the game extremely hard, and when healthy, he's one of the most dangerous hitters in the game.  

Unlike a year ago, there were plenty of left-handed hitters available on the free-agent market.  The Cubs took a brief look at Ibanez, Dunn, Abreu, but in the end, Hendry took the guy with the biggest upside. 

During the November general manager meetings, Jim Hendry had dinner with Milton Bradley, and it appears Hendry was immediately sold on Bradley.  

Bradley's stats speak for themselves, but maybe his best asset is how hard he plays the game. Bradley consistently runs the bases hard, and he will always do what he can do to break up a double play.   

Many of Bradley's injuries are due to him playing the game so hard. At times, Bradley lets his emotions get the best of him. Former manager Ron Washington said, "Milton wants to win as much any player I've ever been around, and sometimes that is misunderstood." 

It will be interesting to see how well the outspoken Lou Piniella and Milton Bradley work together. Bradley is not the type of person you can call out in the media. Then again, there shouldn't be a reason to call out a guy who plays as hard as Bradley does. 

Bradley is a blue collar player, and Chicago will embrace him as long as he stays on the field. Cubs fans will love watching Bradley play, but it doesn't mean anything if he can't stay healthy.

So what does all of this mean?  Simply stated, Bradley's three-year, $30 million dollar deal will be a steal for Hendry and the Cubs if Bradley stays relatively healthy.  If Bradley can't stay healthy, it will be a long three years. 

In my opinion, there is a risk in signing Bradley, but the reward is so high that you can't pass on this.