The general managers' meetings ended on Wednesday with no movement on the Milton Bradley front, though no one expected the Cubs outfielder to be moved this quickly.
In fact, one Cubs source said general manager Jim Hendry will be able to operate in normal fashion this winter, even if he has to wait on finding a new home for the disgruntled Bradley.
That means Hendry can go out and make a bid on free agent centerfielder Marlon Byrd once free agency begins on Nov. 19, despite the possibility of having both Bradley and Kosuke Fukudome on the roster.
Hendy did not specifically address Bradley as he left the meetings on Wednesday, and has been reluctant to discuss the situation for the last three days. He said he spoke with "seven or eight" clubs on Tuesday night about various trade possibilities.
"It's kind of the way I anticipated," he said. "You feel like hopefully there's some business that will be done in the next few weeks. Hopefully you can do something before you get to Indianapolis (for the Dec. 7-10 winter meetings).
"And like I've always said, we need a few moves. We don't need mega-moves... I had really good meetings. It was really a good environment after all."
Hendry wouldn't say whether he's "close" on any potential deals, but said he feels he's on the right "path of which way to go first or second here."
The Cubs may have a deal in place for John Grabow in the next week or so. Hendry said "both sides would like to work something out," and Grabow has made no bones about his wish to remain a Cub.
Otherwise, it was an uneventful three days at the O'Hare Hilton, though it figures to be a very interesting off-season for the Cubs.
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