Newz Forum: BASEBALL: Indians look to trade Bradley

Cleveland still is trying to figure out what to do with Milton Bradley.

A day after optioning the outfielder to Triple-A Buffalo, Indians general manager Mark Shapiro was weighing trade options.


"Our talks continue to progress," Shapiro said Sunday. "It's been an awful lot to sort through, probably more than we expected. We're taking our time and are going to make the right decision."


Bradley has until Tuesday to report, though it's expected he'll be traded. Shapiro said about four teams were in the mix to acquire Cleveland's former cleanup hitter.


Bradley was barred from Cleveland's training camp Thursday, one day after he was pulled from an exhibition game by manager Eric Wedge for not running out a pop fly.


"It's disappointing it didn't work out here," Wedge said before Sunday's exhibition game against Philadelphia. "We feel like we have to handle this thing appropriately and that's what we're trying to do."


Bradley signed a $1.73 million, one-year contract in November with the Indians, who were counting on him to be a productive everyday player. He was having a solid 2003 season before hurting his back and missing the final six weeks.


Cleveland acquired Bradley from Montreal in 2001 for pitcher Zach Day.



[Edited on 4/4/2004 by Ben]

[Edited on 4/4/2004 by Ben]

Desperate to score runs and willing to take a chance, the Los Angeles Dodgers got troubled outfielder Milton Bradley from the Cleveland Indians in a trade Sunday for a minor leaguer and a player to be named.The deal capped a tumultuous week for the Indians' cleanup hitter. He was pulled from an exhibition game Wednesday by manager Eric Wedge for failing to run out a pop fly that dropped, barred from training camp the next day and later sent to the minors.

Bradley is expected to start in center field today when Los Angeles opens at home against San Diego.The Dodgers, whose 574 runs were the fewest in the majors last season, sent outfielder Franklin Gutierrez to Cleveland. Bradley hit .321 with 10 homers and 56 RBI and stole a team-leading 17 bases. He did it while missing the final six weeks and 61 games because of a lower back injury.