Should Jackie Bradley Jr be traded?

[Nick]

JBJ is worth more to the Sox than to anyone else right now. We can't get in return what we are giving up.

 

We have a very good outfield group. Why create a hole? I don't see Chris Young as a every day starter. Our defense is much better with the trio of Betts, JBJ and Beni. (And we have 3 more years of team control for JBJ)

 

Maybe you address it at some point but not now. Our three biggest concerns are Pom/Price, return of Carson Smith/Thornburg, and Panda.

Edited May 26, 2017 by Nick

[oldtimer]

JBJ is worth more to the Sox than to anyone else right now. We can't get in return what we are giving up.

 

We have a very good outfield group. Why create a hole? I don't see Chris Young as a every day starter. Our defense is much better with the trio of Betts, JBJ and Beni.

 

Maybe you address it at some point but not now. Our three biggest concerns are Pom/Price, return of Carson Smith/Thornburg, and Panda.

 

Bradley is struggling but he is a great defensive outfielder and we could not get a replacement as good. I agree, concentrate on fixing our main weaknesses.

[Slasher9]

Maybe its just me but I don't really care if JBJ struggles with the bat, what he brings defensively is just outstanding.

 

not just you. count me and S5 in on this.

[S5Dewey]

not just you. count me and S5 in on this.

 

Yup. I'm just a fanboy. While I'm not ecstatic about that .200 BA I believe it will improve and even if it doesn't improve his defense more than makes up for that BA.

[cp176]

Yup. I'm just a fanboy. While I'm not ecstatic about that .200 BA I believe it will improve and even if it doesn't improve his defense more than makes up for that BA.

 

I saw him in Portland. i would probably never trade him. I just like him!

[OH FOY]

Move him to 9th spot, where he seems to flourish. Give him a Month, but he is dangerously coming close to where he does not save enough runs in a game to what's he is leaving on the bases.

I always allow for lower average just as long as your doing well in High pressure situations. .208 in RISP and .091 with 2 out scoring position has to improve.

Edited May 26, 2017 by OH FOY!

[S5Dewey]

Move him to 9th spot, where he seems to flourish. Give him a Month, but he is dangerously coming close to where he does not save enough runs in a game to what's he is leaving on the bases.

I always allow for lower average just as long as your doing well in High pressure situations. .208 in RISP and .091 with 2 out scoring position has to improve.

 

My philosophy in baseball is to be solid defensively up the middle with whatever offense you get that's above average being a bonus. It's also to be solid offensively at the corners and whatever defense you get from those positions above average is also a bonus.

 

Having Bogaerts offense coming from the SS position negates the offensive deficiencies of JBJ just as having Beni's and Mookie's defense at the corners makes the team better than average.

 

Possibly the biggest problem this team has had is that they've had a 3B who's below average both offensively and defensively. Having Marrero at 3B has solved part of the problem (what's their record since Marrero moved to 3B?) there but suggesting that JBJ (with his defense) should also be offensively strong enough to offset what we haven't got a 3B is ignoring the real problem.

[Bellhorn04]

JBJ has a 1.1 WAR. So he is a positive contributor in spite of the weak offensive numbers.

[Emp9]

My philosophy in baseball is to be solid defensively up the middle with whatever offense you get that's above average being a bonus. It's also to be solid offensively at the corners and whatever defense you get from those positions above average is also a bonus.

 

Having Bogaerts offense coming from the SS position negates the offensive deficiencies of JBJ just as having Beni's and Mookie's defense at the corners makes the team better than average.

 

Possibly the biggest problem this team has had is that they've had a 3B who's below average both offensively and defensively. Having Marrero at 3B has solved part of the problem (what's their record since Marrero moved to 3B?) there but suggesting that JBJ (with his defense) should also be offensively strong enough to offset what we haven't got a 3B is ignoring the real problem.

 

Exactly. We can't blame JBJ for what goes on at 3B. I still love our OF and I'd be very hesitant on changing it anytime soon.

[S5Dewey]

Bradley demonstrated on Friday night why he shouldn't be traded. He cut down a runner trying to stretch a nobody-out hit into a double, turning a 2nd & 3rd - nobody out situation into a runner on 3rd and one outs, and ERod got out of the inning unscathed.

Then he doubled in his first AB, and scored on a WP later in the game.

 

Yeah. He's a keeper.

[moonslav59]

JBJ has a 1.1 WAR. So he is a positive contributor in spite of the weak offensive numbers.

 

JBJ is one of the last players I'd think of trading.

 

BTW

 

BR has 1.1 WAR

 

fangraphs has 0.1 WAR

[Slasher9]

JBJ has a 1.1 WAR. So he is a positive contributor in spite of the weak offensive numbers.

 

Thank you

[S5Dewey]

May 27, 2017. The day this thread officially died. Or at least it should die.

[Yaz Fan Since 67]

Mine is not a popular opinion but I've never been a fan of good defense/little offense players. Major league center fielders are damned good. How many plays a week does JBJ make that other starting CFs don't make? Maybe 1-2? That hardly makes up for his .200 average. I mean it's not like he is the only outfielder jumping up to take away game winning home runs and his arm can be erratic

[notin]

Mine is not a popular opinion but I've never been a fan of good defense/little offense players. Major league center fielders are damned good. How many plays a week does JBJ make that other starting CFs don't make? Maybe 1-2? That hardly makes up for his .200 average. I mean it's not like he is the only outfielder jumping up to take away game winning home runs and his arm can be erratic

 

 

Why doesn't 2 plays make up for a .200 batting average? If some other Major League center fielder is batting .280, that would only be 2 more hits a week than a .200 hitter.

 

Of course, when you consider MLB centerfielders this year are only hitting a combined .247/.313/.480, it does make Bradley's .211/.298/.394 and those 1-2 extra play a week a little more palatable...

[Jack Flap]

After 2015-16, I'm not sure why people continue to apply the "good defense/little offense" tag to Bradley. His capabilities with the bat should be well-established by this point...you know you'll deal with some slumps along the way, but this is hardly someone who's continually a black hole in the lineup.

 

Why doesn't 2 plays make up for a .200 batting average? If some other Major League center fielder is batting .280, that would only be 2 more hits a week than a .200 hitter.

 

Of course, when you consider MLB centerfielders this year are only hitting a combined .247/.313/.480, it does make Bradley's .211/.298/.394 and those 1-2 extra play a week a little more palatable...

 

And while .211/.298/.394 might not sound exciting, it was .171/.234/.286 just a couple of weeks ago. Anyone who's following along should be able to tell that he's trending upwards offensively, which makes the criticism all the more baffling.

Edited May 28, 2017 by Jack Flap

[OH FOY]

That was a Damn good catch by Bradley with a 5 run lead. 3 runs or less, you better make Damn sure you make that catch.

He was smart that he understood the situation and score.

[a700hitter]

He made a couple of sparking plays in the 9th inning. I thought the first one was definitively going to be a hit. He just gets such a great jump on balls. It seems like he is all over the field.

[moonslav59]

I'm not sure I've ever seen a catch on a low liner like that one JBJ caught. When it left the bat, it looked like a 100% single.

 

Maybe it hung up longer than any one else I've seen, but I was shocked JBJ was able to get to it before it hit the ground.

 

JBJ is a KEEPER!

[Nick]

I'm not sure I've ever seen a catch on a low liner like that one JBJ caught. When it left the bat, it looked like a 100% single.

 

Maybe it hung up longer than any one else I've seen, but I was shocked JBJ was able to get to it before it hit the ground.

 

JBJ is a KEEPER!

 

 

JBJ, Betts and Beni form a special defensive OF trio. If our pitching staff had any say in the matter, none of them would be traded. JBJ is also able to generate some power. He hits hard.

 

Keep in mind that JBJ and Betts are under team control for additional 3 years, Beni for another 5.

 

Yeah, lets move on from this thread.

[Kimmi]

May 27, 2017. The day this thread officially died. Or at least it should die.

 

Unfortunately, it won't die. There will be some who want to trade him every time he has an 0-fer.

[Kimmi]

Mine is not a popular opinion but I've never been a fan of good defense/little offense players. Major league center fielders are damned good. How many plays a week does JBJ make that other starting CFs don't make? Maybe 1-2? That hardly makes up for his .200 average. I mean it's not like he is the only outfielder jumping up to take away game winning home runs and his arm can be erratic

 

I think you underestimate the value of good defense. JBJ is 2nd in the majors defensively out of all the positions with a DRS of +10, and he's done that playing fewer innings than most of the other players who are at the top of that leader board.

[MADSTORK]

JBJ, Betts and Beni form a special defensive OF trio. If our pitching staff had any say in the matter, none of them would be traded. JBJ is also able to generate some power. He hits hard.

 

Keep in mind that JBJ and Betts are under team control for additional 3 years, Beni for another 5.

 

Yeah, lets move on from this thread.

 

Amen

[moonslav59]

Nobody is going to convince me JBJ isn't one of baseballs best fielding CF'ers.

 

He's great!

 

Defense matters to me, especially up the middle.

 

What baffles me is that fangraphs has JBJ ranked 9th in UZR/150 at just +0.7, yet they have his DRS at +10. This ranks him first a full 6 runs ahead of the 4th place player. I know the sample sizes are small, but something seems out of whack here.

 

I will say one thing: JBJ is one heck of a defender, and I also think he's got a good bat that will be shown to us as the season progresses.

[S5Dewey]

Nobody is going to convince me JBJ isn't one of baseballs best fielding CF'ers.

 

What baffles me is that fangraphs has JBJ ranked 9th in UZR/150 at just +0.7, yet they have his DRS at +10. This ranks him first a full 6 runs ahead of the 4th place player. I know the sample sizes are small, but something seems out of whack here.

 

 

IMO this is one of the drawbacks to our obsession with statistics. I've always had a feeling that if a person wanted to look for inconsistencies like the one Moon mentioned there are a lot of them to be found. It's why I'm skeptical about much of the advanced sabermetrics. Sometimes KISS is best.

[Bellhorn04]

IMO this is one of the drawbacks to our obsession with statistics. I've always had a feeling that if a person wanted to look for inconsistencies like the one Moon mentioned there are a lot of them to be found. It's why I'm skeptical about much of the advanced sabermetrics. Sometimes KISS is best.

 

There are still issues with the defensive measurements and skepticism is understandable.

 

But generally speaking, the new defensive measurements are very beneficial to a player like JBJ.

[moonslav59]

IMO this is one of the drawbacks to our obsession with statistics. I've always had a feeling that if a person wanted to look for inconsistencies like the one Moon mentioned there are a lot of them to be found. It's why I'm skeptical about much of the advanced sabermetrics. Sometimes KISS is best.

 

Well, in all fairness, UZR/150 is not supposed to be used in small sample sizes. For OF'ers, even a full season may not be a large enough sample size to make a definitive judgment, so I take the low UZR/150 number for JBJ this year with a grain of salt.

 

I think JBJ is deceptively good. He makes tough plays look easy, so maybe that has affected the ratings of some of his plays.

[devildavid]

Nobody is going to convince me JBJ isn't one of baseballs best fielding CF'ers.

 

He's great!

 

Defense matters to me, especially up the middle.

 

What baffles me is that fangraphs has JBJ ranked 9th in UZR/150 at just +0.7, yet they have his DRS at +10. This ranks him first a full 6 runs ahead of the 4th place player. I know the sample sizes are small, but something seems out of whack here.

 

I will say one thing: JBJ is one heck of a defender, and I also think he's got a good bat that will be shown to us as the season progresses.

 

I have been following the Sox since 1972 and IMHO JBJ is the absolute best fielding CF I have ever seen. He nearly always gets a good jump on the ball and knows where it is going. He makes tough catches look easy and he makes amazing catches that others can only dream about.

[dgalehouse]

Should JBJ be traded is too vague a question. Traded for who ? If you can improve the team , trade him. If you can't , don't. It's that simple. You certainly don't dump him simply because he has been slumping. He has shown before that he can produce at the plate. Patience is a virtue.

[Kimmi]

There are still issues with the defensive measurements and skepticism is understandable.

 

But generally speaking, the new defensive measurements are very beneficial to a player like JBJ.

 

The new defensive measurements, issues and all, do a pretty darn good job.

 

They are certainly light years better than fielding % and errors.