I haven’t seen anything new on this story, but this well-reasoned analysis and a comment indicating that Bradley and Bob Geren had words (at least), all seem to make more sense than the A’s original story.
Why would the A’s keep the story quiet? To keep Bradley’s trade value up, a move that seemed to pay off when they dealt him to Kansas City. But Bradley, who must be steamed (and who has been on the DL three times already this year), told the Royals he was hurt and the savvy Royals backed out of the deal.
For a Bradley owner who will lose him if he ends up in the NL this was a particularly cruel and troublesome turn of events.