Grievance or no grievance, one thing is fairly certain: Milton Bradley will not being playing in Wrigley Field next season. Considering how this season is ending, and the harsh words he’s had for the fans there, the Cubs will almost certainly be forced to trade him this offseason (he has two years and $20 million remaining on his contract). So what should Bradley’s new team expect from the troubled slugger: the 2008 version (.321 BA/.436 OBP/.563 SLG) or the 2009 version (.257/.378/.397)? Beyond the Box Score predicts more of the former.
What’s Next for Bradley?
To put it succinctly, they should expect a productive player. In what was quite easily his worst season as a hitter since becoming an everyday player in 2002, Bradley still put up above average numbers. Bradley doesn’t need to post impressive batting averages to be productive because he walks at a tremendous rate. This year, he’s walking in 14.4% of his plate appearances. His IsoD (Isolated Discipline, OBP-AVG) remains staggering, this year at .121 […]
We shouldn’t completely expect Bradley to return to his 2008 form in 2010. Bradley’s 2008 season benefitted from tremendous BABIP numbers that we shouldn’t expect him to repeat. This year, his BABIP fell from .396 to .311. .311 sounds more within reason for the average hitter, but Bradley has a career BABIP of .324, so based on his career profile it is possible that Bradley’s BIP luck has been down. He managed to post a .405 wOBA in 2007 with a .329 wOBA, but he also had a .239 ISO.
It’s a bit inside-baseball (literally) with some of those numbers, so here it is again, but presented in words: “Some team with a need in the outfield or at DH should take a look at Bradley – it won’t be costly and the benefits could be enormous.”
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