Boston Red Sox: The dilemma with a struggling Jackie Bradley, Jr

Nearly two months into the season, Boston Red Sox outfielder Jackie Bradley, Jr continues to struggle. Is it time to make him a full-time bench player?

The Boston Red Sox might be in a virtual tie for first place, but that doesn’t mean they are a team without issues.

One of the problem areas involves the early-season struggles of Jackie Bradley Jr.
The former all-star might have found the bottom of his current slump on Friday night against the Baltimore Orioles. Bradley struck out twice, including an at-bat in which he did so in three pitches.

It’s an alarming trend for Bradley. Since April 20, he has struck out 30 times — of his 37 on the season — and has only accumulated six hits since then.

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In ten games between April 10 and April 20, Bradley had actually appeared to finding his groove. He hit .282 (11-39) with two home runs and six RBI’s while also scoring nine runs. It was a small sample size but it looked like Bradley was gearing up to start wreaking havoc.

Manager Alex Cora has gone as far as giving Bradley days off as of late, an easier choice considering how well Mitch Moreland is hitting right now.

Overall, Bradley is hitting .164. Outside of the ten-day span, he has only driven in three runs and has failed to even find ways to get on base on a regular basis.

All of this begs the question: What is Cora and Red Sox management to do with Bradley?

A deep bench for the Boston Red Sox

The normal one thru seven hitters in the Boston lineup have been, for the most part, top-line hitters in 2018. This has given Cora a glutton of options to fill out the bottom portion of the lineup.

These two spots — usually split between whoever is catching and Bradley, depending on the day — have not been getting the job done.

The movement of people in and out, whether it’s Bradley getting benched and Moreland playing first or designated hitter, has left some players frustrated (see: Blake Swihart).

Dustin Pedroia is likely back soon, leaving more players fighting for playing time. Brock Holt will lose at-bats, as will Eduardo Nunez. Bradley will factor into this as well, leaving Cora with a lot of options on a game-to-game basis.

Which is not a bad problem to have.

Bradley’s value

Defense has always been the true gem of Bradley’s value. He covers a lot of ground and helps anchor the outfield from his centerfield position. Even in 2018, with only one assist, Bradley has not committed an error.

At what point does his run-saving potential get overshadowed by offense?

The last two seasons, Bradley finally seemed to figure it out at the plate. His all-star year of 2016 saw him hit .267 with 26 home runs and 87 RBI’s. He also scored 94 runs and played in 156 games.

There was a slight regression in 2017, but that was the case for most of the Boston lineup. Numbers dropped across the board but he was still a valuable asset.

Bradley is not hitting right now and Moreland is, as is Hanley Ramirez. Moreland is hitting at a .319 clip with 6 home runs, 21 RBI’s and a 1.010 OPS.

Riding the hot bat right now is the way to go. All three of the above players have been known to be streaky hitters in their careers so it’s best to keep them all in rotation.

Bradley is 28-years old and still has plenty to offer to the Boston Red Sox. He is the best option defensively and the outfielders waiting in Triple-A Pawtucket are not exactly enticing.

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He will figure it out. Some of his struggles can be attributed to simply hard-luck outs. It’s not time to panic in regards to Bradley. He may see his at-bats dip, but he will play an important role if the Red Sox hope to win a championship.

Late-game defensive replacements and pinch runners are important, too.

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