Should Jackie Bradley Jr be traded?

[StephenCurry30]

I've been browsing more then posting lately, and have seen this come up a lot, I think yes, maybe not now coming off an injury and struggling but lets face it, when he gets hot and his value is hot again we should deal him. He's a Scott Boras player and is gonna demand a lot of money, plus he's frustrating at plate and is a few years older than our other young stars (Mookie, Xander, Beni). Yes his Glove is nice but we need to cash in while we can. I wanted to trade him in off season but not a lot of people agreed with that and if last year was a fluke and he really cant hit, were screwed.

[tombirner]

I've been browsing more then posting lately, and have seen this come up a lot, I think yes, maybe not now coming off an injury and struggling but lets face it, when he gets hot and his value is hot again we should deal him. He's a Scott Boras player and is gonna demand a lot of money, plus he's frustrating at plate and is a few years older than our other young stars (Mookie, Xander, Beni). Yes his Glove is nice but we need to cash in while we can. I wanted to trade him in off season but not a lot of people agreed with that and if last year was a fluke and he really cant hit, were screwed.

 

Should have traded him this past offseason, when his value was at its highest. I thought that even at the time (though I didn't say it on here, because I only began posting a few weeks ago).

 

He is wayyyyyyy too streaky and has been a bad or mediocre hitter for longer than he's been a good hitter. Trading him would have meant you still have Benitendi and Betts, tons of cost-efficient (for now) youth/athleticism/ability in the outfield. Make Young your starting left fielder for a season or two and he'd probably put up serviceable numbers for very cheap, then sign a masher (which we probably should have done anyway, given our offense to this point in the season) or see if the farm turns up someone with a higher ceiling than Young. Not an expert on our farm, but admittedly can't recall any stud prospects being outfielders... anyone?

[Fan_since_Boggs]

Should have traded him this past offseason, when his value was at its highest. I thought that even at the time (though I didn't say it on here, because I only began posting a few weeks ago).

 

 

I wanted to trade him as well--just had a bad feeling about the guy and, yes, he is way too streaky. They could have moved Benintendi to CF and brought in an offensive upgrade at LF. It is possible that another team would have overpaid for Bradley, coveting his OF defense.

 

It is too late to trade him now--his value is too low due to his slump. If he breaks out of it, I would consider trading him.

 

My fear is that Dombrowski is going to trade Devers this season. He has traded every other high upside Red Sox prospect. Why stop now?

[Jasonbay44]

I love JBJ so I have a bias for him and don't want to move him, but if they were going to move him, the time would've been in the off season when his value was the highest its been since he was a top prospect. Regardless of how JBJ plays the rest of the season I can't see him being moved in season, if anything possibly next off-season he could be moved.

[Nick]

What would you ask for in return? And can you get it? Betts and JBJ are under contract for three more years after this year and five more years for Beni.

 

Right now, outfield is not the area where I would focus on. Admittedly it's frustrating to wait for his hot streak to come around. We need to address our 3B situation until Devers is ready to take over.

 

I can see a blockbuster trade this off season if by chance we miss the playoffs or are eliminated in the wild card playoff. DD will not sit idly by.

 

Oh by the way, firing JB will be the first move if we don't make the playoffs.

[oldtimer]

I love JBJ so I have a bias for him and don't want to move him, but if they were going to move him, the time would've been in the off season when his value was the highest its been since he was a top prospect. Regardless of how JBJ plays the rest of the season I can't see him being moved in season, if anything possibly next off-season he could be moved.

 

I think JBJ is one of the best defensive players in the league and his offensive showing when hot indicates he could hit. I long ago identified what I thought was his hitting issues and noted earlier this year that despite his statement to the contrary, he really did not change his hitting mechanics. Should he go with someone who would get his attention and have him try a shorter and more compact swing, he might hit very well indeed. In my opinion, the Sox should talk seriously with him about his career and get Chili Davis to do a swing makeover. The time to have done that was the off season, so now he is in a position where he is hurting the team and his trade value is minimal.

[jad]

Trade players when their value is at its lowest? (For a moment, I thought I had failed to move from the LA Clippers board to this one).

[Bellhorn04]

Trade players when their value is at its lowest? (For a moment, I thought I had failed to move from the LA Clippers board to this one).

 

In defense of the OP, he did say 'when he gets hot and his value is hot again'.

[notin]

Bogaerts is a Broad client as well and would command a ton more cash than Bradley. Should he be traded too?

 

And would we even be discussing this if Bradley wasn't struggling?

[notin]

In defense of the OP, he did say 'when he gets hot and his value is hot again'.

 

Why do fans think GMs don't recognize hot streaks and streaky hitters and therefore alue players differently if they have performed better over the last couple days?

 

GMs employ scouts and have a very good idea of how good Bradley is, including the streaky hitting thing.

[georom4]

JBJ is worth holding on to. He is the best defensive player on a team that cant play defense. No one expected him to replace Papi's numbers so I don't see the logic behind trading him because he's in a slump. Also, Benitendi in CF? No thank you. He's pretty shaky out there with less ground to cover in LF and his arm is beyond erratic. The number of doubles would increase by 25% with that switch imo

[harmony]

A hot streak is unlikely to change the trade value of a 27-year-old outfielder with 1,485 plate appearances in 410 MLB games.

 

Jackie Bradley is what he is ... and carries some value.

 

Of course Mookie Betts or Andrew Benintendi would command a greater return in trade.

[mvp 78]

I'm not sure what his trade value is. Everyone has a price.

[bosoxmal]

JBJ can't hit. Who waits for a guy to get "streaky". That's crazy. And is far from the best defensive outfit in baseball. He is smooth. He gets a good jump on the ball, then tthrows it to the wrong base---off line/

 

No, his defense is very much over rated. Watch the guy from the Rays, for example. As under rated as JBJ is over rated. Spectacular plays, yes. Of any value a this time. No.

 

Before the season gegan I lobbied (daily) for the Sox to get rid of him. My thought was to bring back Swihart as the left fielder. Put Benni in center. Swiahart has, I think, given up. The last time I looked, he was hitting about .200. So I was right and I was wrong. Par for the course.

[harmony]

I'm not sure what his trade value is. Everyone has a price.

ZiPS, Steamer and FanGraphs Depth Charts project Jackie Bradley Jr. with rest-of-season WAR of 2.1, 2.4 and 2.1, respectively, after Bradley posted 4.8 fWAR last year and 0.1 fWAR to date this season:

 

http://www.fangraphs.com/statss.aspx?playerid=12984&position=OF

[harmony]

JBJ can't hit. Who waits for a guy to get "streaky". That's crazy. And is far from the best defensive outfit in baseball. He is smooth. He gets a good jump on the ball, then tthrows it to the wrong base---off line/

 

No, his defense is very much over rated. Watch the guy from the Rays, for example. As under rated as JBJ is over rated. Spectacular plays, yes. Of any value a this time. No.

 

Before the season gegan I lobbied (daily) for the Sox to get rid of him. My thought was to bring back Swihart as the left fielder. Put Benni in center. Swiahart has, I think, given up. The last time I looked, he was hitting about .200. So I was right and I was wrong. Par for the course.

ZiPS and Steamer project rest-of-season wRC+ of 97 and 105 for Jackie Bradley Jr. and 75 and 75 for Blake Swihart, who has posted a wRC+ of 71 in 52 plate appearances at Pawtucket this year:

 

http://www.fangraphs.com/statss.aspx?playerid=13176&position=C

 

I hope we can agree on which player is the better defender.

[Jack Flap]

We know JBJ can hit...we also know he's streaky as hell. This year, unlike 2016, he's started off cold, so his overall numbers look like dog s***. He's also had a stint on the DL and has only played in 16 games. Give it time.

 

I am bemused that anyone would "lobby daily" to get rid of Bradley just so that we could put Swihart in left, but perhaps I should leave it at that.

[SoxHop]

If JBJ was in his hitting zone, we would be up about 3 more games than now.

 

He'll turn the corner and carry the team a month or two. It's coming, just wait.....

[dgalehouse]

ZiPS and Steamer project rest-of-season wRC+ of 97 and 105 for Jackie Bradley Jr. and 75 and 75 for Blake Swihart, who has posted a wRC+ of 71 in 52 plate appearances at Pawtucket this year:

 

http://www.fangraphs.com/statss.aspx?playerid=13176&position=C

 

I hope we can agree on which player is the better defender.

 

Harm , Any word from Steamer on when the Mariners might finally win a pennant?

[harmony]

Harm , Any word from Steamer on when the Mariners might finally win a pennant?

I don't think Steamer makes those projections, but FanGraphs currently projects the Seattle Mariners with a 2017 record of 80-82:

 

http://www.fangraphs.com/depthcharts.aspx?position=Standings#AL-W

 

So the chances of a Mariner pennant this year are slipping away. I hope to witness another Seattle pennant in my lifetime but at age 61 my time is running out.

 

Nevertheless thanks for asking.

 

Trivia: In the three-plus seasons since Boston won the 2013 World Series, the Red Sox have a record of 257-258 while the Mariners have a record of 262-254.

Edited May 6, 2017 by harmony

[jad]

I love JBJ, but alas, while there's almost a dead certainty that a 'streaky hitter' will go cold, there is no certainty whatsoever that such a hitter will get hot. Edited May 6, 2017 by jad

[Kimmi]

I really think that some people undervalue defense.

[Kimmi]

I also think that some people tend to panic.

[Jasonbay44]

I also think that some people tend to panic.

This is true. The "trade JBJ" seems like it comes up every season, then again in the off season.

[Kimmi]

I love JBJ, but alas, why there's almost a dead certainty that a 'streaky hitter' will go cold, there is no certainty whatsoever that such a hitter will get hot.

 

Read this morning that JBJ's K/BB ratio is currently 2.3, which is exactly what it was last season. His BABIP last year was was .312 and it was .310 in 2015. His current BABIP is .231.

 

While there is no certainty that JBJ's bat will heat up, that data suggests that it will.

[Kimmi]

This is true. The "trade JBJ" seems like it comes up every season, then again in the off season.

 

Yeah, so does the "fire Farrell". I'm not saying that Farrell is without his share of the blame, I just think it's too early to make such rash decisions.

[Fisk]

Trading JBJ would be crazy, great center fielder and when he gets hot he can carry the team.

[a700hitter]

Trading JBJ would be crazy, great center fielder and when he gets hot he can carry the team.

His slumps are too severe and prolonged.

[StephenCurry30]

Just to be clear - I do not want Swihart being out OF instead of JBJ - that is absurd and not sure why it was brought it up. I was hoping in off season we'd trade for a potential 3B as I DIDN'T trust fat as.. and I still dont

[harmony]

Trading JBJ would be crazy, great center fielder and when he gets hot he can carry the team.

We agree on this.