Jackie Bradley Jr. Trade Rumors: Latest News, Speculation on Red Sox OF
After a 2015 season that saw him go through both scorching-hot and freezing-cold streaks, Boston Red Sox outfielder Jackie Bradley Jr. is the subject of trade talks.
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The Red Sox boast a talented triumvirate of young outfielders in Bradley, Mookie Betts and Rusney Castillo, but according to Rob Bradford of WEEI.com, Boston may be willing to part with the former.
Both the Kansas City Royals and the Chicago Cubs reportedly showed interest in trading for him at the winter meetings, and Bradley is the likeliest of Boston's outfielders to be dealt.
According to Jon Morosi of Fox Sports, the Mariners are also interested in dealing for Bradley, although they're looking at a number of center field options.
Bradley's Defense Makes Him Top CF Target
After hitting under .200 in stints with the Red Sox in both 2013 and 2014, the 25-year-old finally showed signs of life in 2015, as he hit .243 with 10 home runs and 43 RBI in 74 games while playing some great defense as well.
Even when his bat wasn't working in 2014, Bradley ranked ninth in the American League with a defensive WAR of 2.0, per Baseball-Reference.com.
He has a chance to be one of the premier defensive center fielders in baseball, but with Betts also excelling at the position, there is some incentive for the Red Sox to move Bradley, perhaps in exchange for some pitching help.
The 2011 first-round pick was torrid at the dish this past season in the month of August, hitting .354 with five homers and 23 RBI, but he followed that up by hitting just .216 in September and October.
Bradley is a mixed bag offensively and looks to be more inconsistent in that regard than Betts and Castillo.
There isn't much incentive for the Red Sox to keep Bradley, Betts and Castillo, as they have many of the same qualities. While Bradley may not net quite as strong of a return as the other two outfielders, his departure would likely hurt Boston least due to his hot-and-cold nature.
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