11:30am: The Mariners, too, have interest in acquiring Bradley, reports Jon Morosi of FOX Sports (via Twitter). Bradley would certainly align GM Jerry Dipoto’s preference to add athleticism and defense to his outfield as well as his preference for trades over free agency.
8:30am: There’s a “growing sentiment” that Red Sox president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski could break up his starting outfield trio of Jackie Bradley, Mookie Betts and Rusney Castillo, writes WEEI.com’s Rob Bradford. The likeliest piece of that group to be moved is seemingly Bradley, according to Bradford, who has already generated trade interest from both the Cubs and Royals.
While Bradley enjoyed a nice overall season with the Red Sox this past year, one general manager opined that the Sox would be selling high if they were to move him at this time. The 25-year-old Bradley (26 next April) posted a nice .249/.335/.489 bating line in 2015 and justified the considerable defensive hype that comes with his name, saving eight to 10 runs (based on his respective Defensive Runs Saved and Ultimate Zone Rating marks) while logging a combined 608 innings across all three outfield spots.
Despite the strong cumulative numbers at the plate, however, Bradley didn’t hit much outside of a torrid month of August. A .451 BABIP that month helped propel Bradley to a .354/.429/.734 batting line — the power he showed does indicate that there was more to the surge than pure luck on balls put into play — but he didn’t post an OPS mark greater than .739 (just barely higher than his August slugging, alone) in any other month of the season.
Bradley is unequivocally a dynamic defender, which makes it understandable that the Royals, who value glovework perhaps more than any other team in baseball, would have some interest in him. The Cubs’ interest isn’t a surprise, either, considering that president Theo Epstein was with the Red Sox when Bradley was drafted 40th overall in 2011. The question for Kansas City and Chicago — or any interested club — is whether Bradley’s 2015 batting line can be reproduced in a more consistent manner over the life of a full season. If so, that could make him one of the game’s most valuable all-around outfielders. If the end result of a full season of Bradley is closer to his lifetime .213/.290/.349 batting line, however, he looks more the part of an elite defensive fourth outfielder. That’s still a valuable piece to a Major League roster but, of course, would come with considerably less value than a premium defender whose bat was 15 to 20 percent above the league average (when adjusting for park).
The Red Sox would figure to have a lofty asking price on Bradley, whom they control through the 2020 season. Bradley’s service time (one year, 150 days) means he’ll be a Super Two player and qualify for arbitration four times instead of the standard three, assuming he is not demoted to the minor leagues again, but if he’s able to turn in comparable results to his 2015 production, a club certainly wouldn’t be bothered by that fact.
It’s worth noting in all of this that while a rival GM might’ve opined to Bradford that moving Bradley would be selling high, there’s no indication that the Red Sox are thinking in that manner at this time. Dombrowski recently labeled Bradley “one of the best defensive outfielders [he’s] ever seen.”
The Cubs actually are the most obvious fit for JBJ. They have a need and the prospects to easily get a deal done.
Every team has the prospects to get it done.
Yep. They have a hole in center and leadoff. Plus, Schwarber and Soler aren’t necessarily gifted defenders. They need a great defender in center.
I dont know if JBJ is an ideal leadoff hitter. He seemed to flourish at the bottom of the batting order, and despite good speed doesnt steal often. He also doesnt walk very much.
he actually walks above league average, he doesnt hit a ton though.
I with Bradley on the team it fits Maddon batting him 8th , his bat sucks but he would be welcome to Boston West
Addison Russell most likely becomes leadoff hitter. JBJ will earn his keep just by catching the ball in CF. And parts of LF and RF too.
Russell will be the lead off hitter not much speed but dependable bat control and smart runner/ player
Bradley at leadoff would be… interesting.
No, the Cubs strike me as a poor fit actually. What the Red Sox want this off-season are three things: 1) Very good starting pitching (they have lots of the mediocre variety); 2) A big bopping corner OF; and 3) A way to get rid of Hanley Ramirez. The Cubs don’t really present much of an opportunity in any of those categories, unless they trade Soler for JBJ, which seems like a loser.
“2) A big bopping corner OF”
So the cubs have Jorge Soler. How aren’t the Cubs a fit then?
The Cubs aren’t trading Soler for Bradley.
Your right Bradly was avg. on a bad team the Cubs got 14 good position players not including Fowler so a few minor league players to get Bradley is fair for Boston West aka Cubs
Then the Cubs aren’t getting Bradley. Just not going to happen. Soler is equal to Bradley’s production and JBJ is a whole lot better than Soler or anyone else in the league for that matter.
JBJ is a whole lot better than anyone else in the league eh? You’re an incredible fan boy and Mike Trout says hi
Jbj is better than Trout. Match up Trout’s arm next to JBJ and it’s not even close. It’s not being about a fanboy. It’s being realistic. Dave D. has called him the “best defensive outfielder he has ever seen” for a reason you clown.
Don’t kid yourself, defensively Bradley matches up w/ Trout, Lorenzo Cain or anyone else in either league. Either plus or plus-plus in every category. Defensively he’s as good as any OF I’ve ever seen.
he said production, that includes offense and baserunning right? if he said he’s the best defensive cf he can have a case. but he said production, therefore is wrong.
lmao, bradley hit 2 homers off position players, thats the only reason his line looks good. hes a decent player with nowhere near solers potential. soler has 30 homer pop in him if he can get a little more loft which he did when he came back from injury at the end of the year.
Red Sox don’t want any more prospects. The need ML pieces. Unless someone is interested in moving a premium pitching prospect.
nah, rondon. matt sczur, corey black + cash for jbj. bradley still might just be a 4th of. 2 homers off postion players boosted his line. they need bullpen help for sure.
The Sox wouldn’t take that package. The Sox don’t view him as a 4th outfielder type and neither does Theo Epstein either.
We got Hendricks with promise so Hammel
I’d much rather see JBJ as just a part of a bigger package for a SP than a smaller deal. Seems he could be packaged w some younger prospects in an attempt to pry a Strasburg, Sale, Kluber type.
they sure as heck dont need any more second/third tier SPs
What does that have to do with the above comment? Strasburg, Sale, and Kluber are far from 2nd tier SPs…
Its agreement; IMO dont trade him unless you get a deal like swanhenge mentions, not simply to maximize value as if weve certainly seen his peak already. hes only had one season (less actually) with his new, more compact swing.
And what would the Sox so in the OF? Margot? FA?
Id only be ok with the trade if they got a player in return with lots of team control. JBJ could give 4 years of value.
Getting a controllable player back in the deal is the last thing I would care about. Deal Bradley in a package that extracts the most value from him and fills a need for Boston, and go sign a mid-tier FA to a 2-3 year deal. Austin Jackson on a 2 year deal is a pretty well-timed bridge to either Benintendi or MArgot, whomever is not dealt
I wouldn’t want Austin Jackson as a 4th OF even watched many of his Mariners games. Only difference between him and BJ/Melvin Upton and Jackson is that Jackson shows he attempts to care about playing some of the time. Last thing Boston needs is another Hanley Ramirez type.
Short term deal to a veteran that could be supplanted by a prospect with a hot start is the best move. Alex Rios on a 1 year deal… Then again, Alex Gordon is going to age well and the sox pick is protected.
No, the sox pick is not protected and Gordon doesn’t interest me at a $20mil AAV or close to it
Benintendi (or anyone from last years draft) would not be eligible to be dealt until one year from the date they were selected, so end of June 2016.
Actually, they changed that rule (I thought the same thing a few weeks ago when they were mentioning his name and looked it up). It is now just until the end of the season or something like that.
they changed it, they are eligible to be traded after the world series, so all 2015 picks can be traded now.
If I were them, I’d go out and give the money to Heyward. He would be a great RFer for them over the next few years.
Starting outfield would be Castillo, Betts, Holt if they deal Bradley, prior to any additions/callups
They’ve been linked to Gordon. They can’t go into the season with weak bats in both corner outfield spots.
The sox have to prefer using Bradley in a deal with prospects to land the top level pitcher they want. Mariners have Taijuan Walker that JBJ could be a piece in a deal with prospects for, I pointed out the Indians will move either Salazarr or Carrasco this offseason and they need a CF. The sox need a pitcher to plug in the rotation that is controllable or on a reasonable contract. Im not seeing that with the Cubs or Royals.
Lol. You wanna talk Walker I wanna talk Betts. Dipoto would hang up. Seattle wants athletic outfielders and needs sp depth. No way, but thanks for the chuckle.
Walker hasn’t lived up to any of the hype he has had yet. I don’t know why that idea is so laughable.
He had a rough April and May. But was a good young starter from that point on. He didn’t have one good month. He’s still inconsistent but I’d take over a JBJ defensive replacement
It’d probably take more pieces to get Walker but a jbj for walker isn’t laughable considering Walker hasn’t lived up to the hype either.
Walker pitched like a young starter. Ran a 4.18 FIP in the first half and a 3.89 in the second half. He ran a 3.91 xFIP in the first half and a 3.69 in the second. WHIP 1.28 in the first half and 1.07 in the second. Batters hit .258 off of him in the first and .233 in the second half. He’s making improvements and with the Arsenal he has he can be scary and cannot see any way Seattle doesn’t hang up the phone. He’s a 23 year old future Ace. Injuries can change everything yes.
The red sox aren’t the ones making the phone call. The Sox have 3 cf. The mariners have none.
note it said and prospects. So that would be Margot and other high end players.
I don’t like him going to either KC or the Cubs. I agree that JBJ should be traded while he has value, but it needs to be in a package for an ace in the rotation or an ace in the bullpen. I don’t see KC dealing one of their backend bullpen guys for him and there is no way the Cubs look to deal Lester or Arrieta
Doubtful you get a TOR guy in the offseason for a 4th OF type, you’ll have to throw in about 4 top 30 prospects to get a guy from a team in rebuilding mode or a team looking to drop salary….
I wasn’t expecting to, and I wouldn’t trade JBJ unless a team valued him as more than that. All I am saying is if JBJ can knock the price for an ace down from Margot, Devers, Guerra + down to Margot, Owens, JBJ +, then I would pull the trigger
Why are you down on Owens? Just curious. 12 months ago he was the best prospect in your system, or close to it. As a complete no-nothing outsider, I’d take Margot, Owens, JBJ over Margot, Devers, Guerra.
12 months ago he wasn’t the best prospect. Maybe the best pitching prospect, but even that was doubtful with Rodriguez and Johnson emerging. He’s a good pitcher, he lacks more control than the other two pitchers in Johnson and Rodriguez. He’s the most expendable out of the group.
Johnson has the higher floor but Owens has the higher ceiling, from what I understand. Rodriguez is a step above both.
Johnson has had better minor league numbers than both of those guys.
The Sox have an overabundance of backend rotation types, and Owens has control issues with a ceiling of a #3. I prefer Devers to Owens because he has something that the MLB club lacks, and that is power. Devers lines up pretty well to take over at 1B/3B when one of Pablo/Hanley can slide to DH.
Yeap. I don’t see the Sox trading Devers outside of anything but a Ace. Too much potential in that kid.
devers all day, owens doesnt have front end stuff, was more floor guy. devers has a real high ceiling with plus raw power, plus arm, and plus contact ability. do seeing him being pushed to lf or 1b eventually though.
Margot/Owens/JBJ will not get you an ace in a trade. It’s missing at least one major piece.
I would love to see McKinney and Zagunis it would give the Red Sox time to compete and they could fill in with a stopgap this year…maybe a 1 year deal or a 2 year deal with incentives to Nori Aoki and maybe a Dom Brown as a 4th Ofer, we only need a drewesque month or so from him to make it work.
2017 OF of Betts,Castillo, and McKinney with Aoki filling in and Castillo taking some ABs in the DH after Papi retires, sounds pretty impressive and cost controlled but I have never known DD to froth at the mouth over Prospects so I think we might be swinging in the dark now
Boston has the ability to compete in 2016 with a few moves, and they should make the moves to do it. Prospects should not be the target in a deal, pitching is.
I really doubt we are interested in prospects. We have the world’s best supply of prospects right now. We need pitching, pitching and more pitching. We are not going to focus on anything other than pitching until we have all the pitching we need. The rest can take care of itself, later.
You also need a corner OF. If Pedroia’s power doesn’t come back and Hanley is dumped (I think likely), you all have VERY little power and most of it is supplied by a 40 year-old.
I really dont think Hanley is going anywhere. Hes got too high of a salary and too big a question mark as far as resilience. Id be shocked (but happy as could be) if they moved him during the offseason.
Power isn’t necessary if they hit well enough. It’s nice but not mandatory.
Lol. Just another Red Sox fan over valuing their prospects.
at least we have some buddy.Not to mention everyone ranks our system as number 1
They do have a ton of good prospects and they’ve got plenty of young guys already playing at the Major League level.
Just another yankee fair weather fan who doesn’t pay attention to baseball. ^^^^
I’m and Red Sox fan and I’d do that deal. I like McKinney a fair bit and they could always flip him for an impact piece instead. Of course, the Red Sox would have to be down on JBJ if they were to make that trade.
McKinney and Zagunis for JBJ?!?
JBJ is precisely the type of player I want the BoSox to hold on to. I want up-the-middle defenders that are spectacular on defense and are generally athletic. JBJ’s arm is phenomenal. He threw a guy out at the plate from the center field warning track, on two hops. He throws “home runs” over the walls from home plate in batting practice. He covers an amazing amount of ground, not with speed, but with unique quickness in assessing where the ball is headed and taking a direct route to that spot. He often turns, runs, stops, raises his glove, and sure enough, the ball is right where he is. I don’t know how he does that, but he’s not even looking at the ball when he does it. I would not trade him. He is a once in a lifetime talent on defense, and that is worth the price of admission, on its own.
He is a lot of fun to watch on defense, but I think Betts in center and Castillo in right is pretty good on defense, a FA stopgap to bridge over until Benintendi or Margot should be considered if JBJ can be put in a package for a player of need
As you know, there are 3 spots in the outfield. Castillo has not been inspiring, yet. JBJ offers 4 years of spectacular defense at a relatively cheap price. He’s worth more in any one of the outfield positions for us than he would be in trade. He’s not going to bring back a huge piece all on his own, and throw ins in packages are pretty much a dime a dozen. Throw in Guerra or Marrero instead. I disagree. I would keep JBJ.
His defense is awesome, but he is a legit black hole on offense. His August was amazing, but the year prior, his time in the MLB earlier in 2015, and his September all point to an offensively challenged 4th OF. I am not advocating trading him for Peanuts, but if a team offers up an ace in the bullpen and he can lower the prospect cost, I’d do it. If he can be the 2nd or 3rd piece to an ace in the rotation, I do it.
Castillo might not be inspiring but the albatross of his contract does not work well with not being insprining so he must get ABs and try and work it out on his own. We/The Red Sox do not need pitching they need an ACE only. We have bjohnson, owens, erod, buch, miley, porcello, kelly and steven wright for basically 4 spots, the last thing we need is another #3/#4 starter. We also have some horrific contracts in panda and hanram and if we could use JBJ to unload another player i am all for it. If something like hanram, JBJ, devers and 20 million bucks got you a carlos carrasco, i would make that move in a heartbeat. We need to unload one bad contract and utilize the prospect depth we have to get a 1/2 starter which doesnt grown on trees
I really disagree with using players to dump Hanley or Pablo. Do I want them gone? of course. But the Red Sox are a team that can absorb $200 million a year on the budget and still spend, If someone wants to take them, Throw in $20-25mil and help him pack his bags, but don’t deal valuable assets just to add another huge contract to the roster
The problem with Ramirez is not the contract, the red sox or for that matter half the league could utilize a helpful 100 million dollar player who can produce a 270 20-30 and 90-110 rbis but if he is not good for a team chemistry then he is literally blacklisted from quite a bunch of teams because some GMs and Mgrs worry about the team and some worry about the results, for us having Ramirez act in a sour way with someone else causes too much friction especially with a team with multiple starting young kids and 2 leaders….1 who is consistently injured and an aging veteran who might be on the downside of his career and sometimes can show a bit of malcontent as well.
I agree 110%….JBJ started hitting more in August because he was getting more playing time and AB’s. He is a potential superstar that will be under team control for the next 5 yrs. Big mistake to trade him. I would focus on dumping Hanley and/or Sandoval and making a run at a front rotation SP. The team played well down the stretch and really just needs some tweaking.
2013 is calling, they want their year back. Only the most brainwashed BoSox fan thinks JBJ is a budding superstar. If he was then specifically Castillo wouldn’t have been signed to Horrific Cherington Move # 5.
And why did he stop hitting near the end of the season?
Because he can’t hit. His August was a flash in the pan. All JBJ does is strike out a ton. I would trade him in a minute. It’s nice that he is a elite defender but you got hit more than a catcher in the outfield.
I love watching JBJ play the field, and watching him flourish somewhere else would be a hard pill to swallow, but I agree with the sentiment that this is a big sell-high opportunity for the Sox. If DD gets an offer that values Bradley as the kind of player he was in the second half (elite defender, average bat with reasonable pop), I think he should take it.
As a Cubs fan I would love JBJ in center. Not sure he is a lead off hitter though and the Cubs need a table setter for all that power. His defense plays everywhere but he isn’t really a proven offensive talent. Not sure how much I would be willing to give up. I could understand the Red Sox wanting pitching in return so the Cubs don’t really match up well.
Well the Sox would probably love to have Jorge Soler. I’m just thinking out loud with that one.
Yeah, Jorge Soler isn’t happening.
Then the Sox have no reason to trade the guy. Maybe extra pieces could be worked out but if the cubs are calling, that’s who I’m targeting if I’m the Sox.
The cubs could always move Bryant to the outfield or sign Heyward. It would make perfect sense actually to trade soler for JBJ. Heyward and JBJ would make them 1000 times better defensively in the outfield.
Who else would go to the Cubs in that trade? Margot and Guerra?
I’m not sure? Owens maybe?
JBJ and Owens for Soler actually sounds like a solid deal.
That’s what I was thinking….
I would trade JBJ for Kelvim Herrera in a minute. The Sox can always go after a Brandon Moss type in lf and not lose anything offensively or defensively in lf of Fenway park. Sell high on JBJ. Wish I could say the same about Castillo right now too but right now wouldn’t be “selling high” on him.
no way KC makes that deal
I don’t know why the royals wouldn’t make that move. Herrera is losing controlled years of service and is getting expensive via arbitration. Now is a good time to move Herrera to get the best deal.
Every player in the majors is losing years of control so saying that isn’t really saying anything. He has a good amount of control left (3 years I think) and isn’t really getting that expensive (doesn’t get saves).
I think its a fair deal, if the Royals didnt already have a plus defending center fielder. Doesnt really make sense. I assume the Royals are offering Duffy and that isnt going to match up.
Why would the Royals want JBJ? His value is all in his CF defense, and the Royals already have the (deserved) AL gold glove at that position.
Very true but JBJ is better than Cain in CF.
Jbj is the best defensive outfielder in baseball. He is better than Cain, and that is no understatement.
Metrics place Cain and JBJ pretty much identical. Neither is half as good as Kevin Kiermaier though. But Kevin Kiermaier is super human.
LOL
Sorry JBJ has a way better arm and is the best defensive player in arguably baseball. Simmons at short stop is special and so is Molina at catcher but JBJ in the outfield is about as good as it gets.
Just half as good as it gets to Kevin Kiermaier, and not to mention Bradleys dWAR got skewed because he played in RF.
5 years of JBJ who posted 2.5 WAR in a half season for a reliever? No thank you.
He’s a stud reliever. Jbj may be a flash in a pan.
I think it’s a huge mistake to trade JBJ. The kid has awesome potential. I’d rather see Castillo go.
JBJ’s value is at its highest after a hot hitting August, and Castillo has a big contract hard to move, that is why Castillo wouldn’t go
The Yankees set the market for this type of player yesterday when they acquired Hicks for Murphy. I think the Sox would get a similar return.
Lol. Jbj > Hicks
You’ve really been drinking the JBJ Kool-Aid
No I haven’t. Defensively it’s not even close between Hicks and JBJ. Get real.
If you think they’re getting much more than a guy like Murphy for JBJ you need to get real.
Murphy is pretty much a non factor. JBJ has way more value then him and Hicks.
JBJ – 238 games, 2.8 WAR
Hicks- 247 games, 2.7 WAR
There value as of now is actually quite similar. So no, JBJ does not have “way more value” than Hicks.
bradleys war was hurt a lot by him playing the corner of spots last year. he also has a way better minor league track record, prospect pedigree, is a year younger, and has way better tools. other than that are quite similar. sigh yankees fans
Lol thanks for pointing out the obvious cub fan friend. We may not agree that Soler is a piece for JBJ but at least we aren’t a dopey yankee fan who uses war to compare defensive metrics.
JBJ,cash,and a prospect for Eric Hosmer and move Hanley either back to 3rd and trade Sandoval or keep Sandoval at 3B and trade Hanley
My god. That’s dumb.
What do the M’s have to trade to Boston? not being a D…really asking.
Bullpen help. Carson Smith would be my target, Wilhemsen is more likely, however.
What do you got for relievers Mariners? Carson Smith? That might work.
I am a Red Sox fan, but yeah Wilhemsen or Smith are my two targets. Other than that we get into the unrealistic territory of Felix or Seager, but that is all I’d want from Seattle
Walker and Paxton are two nice controllable arms.
Over his last 20 starts this season Taijuan Walker turned 23 years old while striking out 118 and walking only 17 in 126.2 innings. The Mariners were 15-5 in those games.
Taijuan Walker is not going anywhere this offseason.
Lol. You’re looking at a Porche when you should be looking for a Camry
You do realize JBJ was more valuable last season correct?
Agreed.
Word is the Red Sox offered JBJ to Seattle last year and asked for Charlie Furbush. Think the Mariners regret not pulling the trigger? I bet the asking price is even higher now.
my bet is he still ends up being in a piece for Carlos Carrasco. The Indians need a plus plus glove in center and the Sox can certainly beat the Pompey, Norris, Hoffman deal without even denting their farm.
Interesting if the Ms get involved in this
i have interest in kate upton. am i the next rumor topic?
My cubs wish list would be , sign Zimmerman, trade for Tyson Ross, and sign either Heyward, or Zobrist.
I’d rather the Royals go after Puig, I think he’d mesh better with what they got going on there and would be a good replacement with Gordon leaving.