After finally trading Milton Bradley, the Cubs are in position to move forward and address the rest of their offseason priorities. Let's round up some Cubs-related links….
- Jon Heyman tweets that before the Cubs traded Bradley, their choices for center fielders were Marlon Byrd, Rick Ankiel, Melky Cabrera, and Scott Podsednik.
- A center fielder and a setup man are two of the Cubs' most pressing needs, according to Gordon Wittenmyer of the Chicago Sun-Times. There is mutual interest between Marlon Byrd and the Cubs, and the team could also be one of two finalists for Matt Capps (the other being the Nationals).
- Wittenmyer also points out that, of the $9MM coming to Chicago in the Bradley-Carlos Silva swap, $5.5MM will be applied this season, giving the team a little more flexibility for 2010 salaries.
- Erik Manning of Fangraphs wonders if moving Bradley is actually addition by subtraction for the Cubs.
- Yesterday we heard via a FOX Sports report that the Cubs might look into acquiring Brett Gardner or Melky Cabrera from the Yankees. LoHud.com's Chad Jennings examines the Yankees' perspective of such a move, arguing that the world champions' center field depth is a necessity, rather than a luxury.