Boston Red Sox MLB Trade Rumors: Red Sox Looking to Trade Jackie Bradley Jr.
It seems the Boston Red Sox are preparing to move on from Jackie Bradley Jr.
According to USA Today's Bob Nightengale, the Red Sox have informed several teams they are willing to move the All-Star center fielder for a power hitter.
Interestingly, Nightengale also included the hashtag "#Cubs" in his tweet. That should raise more than a few eyebrows. The Red Sox have been linked to Kyle Schwarber before, but a number of observers have already pointed out that a deal involving the two does not really make sense for both teams.
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"From the Cubs perspective, they are potentially dealing Schwarber because they already have a crowded outfield. It wouldn't really make a ton of sense for them to get an outfielder back in that kind of deal, particularly when they already have Albert Almora in center field," Matt Collins wrote in his column for Over The Monster.
"From the Red Sox perspective, Schwarber works as a power bat, but it'd be surprising if they traded for him to do anything other than DH," Collins continued. "If the Red Sox used him as a DH, they wouldn't need to deal Bradley," he added.
Collins makes a good point. Schwarber does have a lot potential, but he is still an unfinished product. In contrast, Bradley is generally considered one of the best defensive center fielders in the league.
In any case, the takeaway here is that the Red Sox have informed teams that Bradley is available in trade talks, and according to WEEI's Rob Bradford, the Kansas City Royals have expressed interest in acquiring the center fielder.
However, the Royals don't have a power bat to offer Boston unless they are willing to move 2015 World Series most valuable player Salvador Pérez.
Bradley posted a 0.245/0.323/0.402 slash line in 133 games last season. He also had 63 runs batted in and 17 home runs in 541 plate appearances.
