Milton Bradley Has 'Clean Slate' With Mariners, Says GM

ORLANDO, Fla. -- Mariners GM Jack Zduriencik isn't ready to give Milton Bradley anything, but he's not ready to give up on him either.

Zduriencik said Tuesday that Bradley would "fight for" time in left field and at designated hitter if the Mariners opened camp now. That's certainly not as bad as it could be considering the 2010 he endured.

Bradley hit .205 and played in just 73 games. Bradley had to leave the team because of personal issues, and he also got hurt. Zduriencik said he believes Bradley is past both problems.

"He had his personal issue, but the year ended for Milton and he was healthy," Zduriencik said. "In the last couple weeks if we had somewhere to get him some ABs, he may have been activated. He left with a clean slate. We look forward to getting him back and hoping he can be the player he was a couple years ago."

Some assumed that the Mariners would have to dump Bradley once they hired Eric Wedge as manager, because Wedge and Bradley did not see eye-to-eye in Cleveland. Zduriencik said that's no longer an issue.

"That's water over the dam," he said. "That was several years ago. He and Eric talked since Eric got the job. They are both grown men. They are both pros. They will turn the page and move on and play baseball."

If the Mariners did want to move Bradley, they'd probably have to eat his entire salary or find another bad contract to take back. Bradley, 32, is signed for $12 million for 2011, the final year of a three-year, $30 million deal he signed with the Cubs.

Steve Phillips offers his thoughts on how to fix what ails the Mariners this winter: