Milton Bradley

Bradley's career with the Cubs ended after just one season when he was traded to Seattle this winter. His lone season in Chicago started slowly, saw him bickering with fans and finally voicing his unhappiness in Chicago to the media, which prompted general manager Jim Hendry to suspend him for the final two weeks of the season. While Bradley's three-year, $30 million deal looks like a huge mistake made by the Cubs, Bradley's contact rate and walk rate were in line with his career norms, and he still managed to reach base at a .378 clip, so at 31, there's no significant evidence of skills erosion. Bradley's health is always an issue - he missed games with knee, hip, calf and groin injuries, and so is his attitude - he was suspended for bumping an umpire in addition to alienating fans and management. But he can still hit, and the change of scenery and ability to play DH with the Mariners could revive his career.

Bradley enjoyed his first "healthy" season since 2004, and yet still managed to miss nearly 40 games due to injury. He hit well when in the lineup, posting career highs across the board. Texas was leery of committing to Bradley beyond a year or two, and his road numbers (.290/.410/.462) point to a drop off, but the Cubs opted to sign him to a three-year, $30 million deal in January to take over in right field.

Bradley is a volatile player that has bounced between five big league teams in the last seven seasons. All was well for Bradley in San Diego last year until he tore his right ACL during a bizarre September argument with an umpire. He hit .313 with 11 homers and 30 RBI in 144 at-bats for the Padres, especially good numbers considering San Diego's pitcher-friendly ballpark. Bradley has the potential to be a 30-20 player with a .300 average. However, he's almost 30 years old and he has only exceeded 377 major league at-bats in one season. Bradley might be ready for Opening Day, but he has a bad injury history and the torn ACL could cost him a sizable chunk of 2008. He signed with Texas this offseason which will help as he can DH early in the season if his knee is not at full strength, and his home ballpark will boost his fantasy value.

A litany of injuries limited Bradley to just 96 games and 351 at-bats in 2006. Once healthy, he posted a nice .300/.386/.482 line after the All-Star break and mixed in eight of his 10 steals. A healthy Bradley is a good bet to eclipse 20 homers, but staying healthy has never been a strong suit.

While Bradley's much-publicized behavioral issues will get the lion's share of attention this spring, of greater consequence will be the progress of his rehab from a partially torn patella tendon. The party line is that he's expected to be ready for spring training, but it wouldn't be surprising if he weren't at full strength. At the very least, don't count on him running often, especially now that he's with the A's.

Bradley may be a head case but his fantasy owners will overlook that flaw as long as he continues to produce like he did in 2004. Bradley set career highs in home runs and RBI and stole 15 bases. He shouldn't have too difficult of a time replicating or even improving upon those totals this season.

Bradley may finally be entering his prime. He had some issues with manager Eric Wedge last season, but played very well before being shut down for the season in September with a balky back. Provided he is healthy, a 20-20 season is not far off.

Never got untracked after a myriad of injuries (fractured orbital bone, strained wrist, emergency appendectomy, strained oblique muscle) in 2002. The CF job is his to lose, particularly with Alex Escobar not yet fully healthy. Bradley has decent plate discipline, so there's a reasonable likelihood that he'll be able to hit for better average in the future.