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Rays Add Submariner Bradford

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By MARC LANCASTER

The Tampa Tribune

Published: August 8, 2008

SEATTLE - A week after the non-waiver trade deadline passed with no movement by the Rays, they made a potentially significant addition Thursday.

Tampa Bay acquired veteran reliever Chad Bradford from the Orioles for a player to be named, installing the most proficient groundball pitcher in the game in front of one of baseball's best defenses.

Thanks in part to an unorthodox submarine delivery in which his knuckles nearly scrape the ground on each pitch, Bradford induces 4.89 grounders for every fly ball - a trait that should make him a natural fit for the Rays.

"Chad gives us a very different look in the bullpen from what we currently have," Rays executive vice president Andrew Friedman said Thursday. "He's an extreme groundball pitcher that should enjoy a lot of success pitching in front of our infield defense."

The 33-year-old right-hander has a lengthy big-league pedigree. An 11-year veteran, he has been to the postseason six times, most recently 2006 with the Mets, and has not been charged with a run in 17 October outings.

"I like him," said Cliff Floyd, who played with Bradford in New York. "Veteran guy, he can throw a groundball for you, and he knows the playoffs."

He also is someone who could be part of the picture next season. Bradford is signed through 2009 at $3.5 million this year and next, which qualifies as reasonable for a veteran reliever on the open market these days. The three-year deal he signed with Baltimore before last season included a $500,000 bonus if he was traded, which will be paid by the Rays since since they claimed him off waivers and worked out a trade.

Bradford is expected to join the Rays here in time for Saturday's game. He was at home in Mississippi on Thursday and was headed back to Baltimore to collect his belongings. The Rays will wait until he arrives to make a roster move, with Al Reyes seemingly the most likely candidate to depart.

Bradford can be viewed as something of a specialist - he generally has his way with right-handed hitters but struggles against lefties - and his groundball tendencies will give Manager Joe Maddon someone to turn to if he needs a double play much in the way he now tabs Grant Balfour when a strikeout is preferable.

"No hitter really likes to face that," Maddon said of Bradford's delivery. "Nobody says, 'Oh, good, Chad's coming in.' ... You have to battle, it's a different look entirely, and he's been very successful again this year. It gives us a different look, a different weapon that we haven't had."

The acquisition was well-received in the clubhouse, where there seemed an appreciation that the front office still was working the phone in an effort to give the Rays the best possible shot at a postseason run.

"Absolutely, and I knew they were," said reliever Dan Wheeler. "And they were trying to be smart about it, too. They weren't going to do anything radical or make a quick decision just for a two-month rental.

"I think that's one of Andrew's things, and organizational - what they're trying to do is they're trying to bring guys in here so we can sustain this for more than two months or one year. The great thing about Bradford is, he's signed through next year."

Reporter Marc Lancaster can be reached at (813) 259-7227 or mlancaster@tampatrib.com.

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