What Jackie Bradley Jr. could bring to the Royals


Following the departure of Michael A. Taylor, the Royals are looking to find someone to play center field rather than fill the void with players already in the organization or free agency.  Kansas City brought in former Red Sox outfielder Jackie Bradley Jr. on a minor league deal following the departure of Taylor.  Although some fans may say the signing of Bradley Jr. is taking a roster spot from one of the team's outfield prospects, it's a low risk, high reward type of signing in my opinion. With the Red Sox, Bradley Jr. was a star from 2011 to 2018. While in the Boston minor league system, he was named the Minor League Defensive Player of the Year by the organization in 2012. The signing of Bradley Jr can and should be a head scratcher for Royals fans as they are hoping to get good looks at young outfielders in the organization such as Drew Waters, Kyle Isbel, Edward Olivares, and Nate Eaton. A few of these outfielders are locks for the team. During Bradley Jr.'s second stint with Boston last season, he hit .210 with three home runs and 29 runs batted in. Red Sox Manager Alex Cora told Espn: "We were hoping, offensively, it was going to be a lot better than last year," Cora said. "He had some stretches at home that were good. Obviously, he struggled toward the end. We weren't able to get him to be consistent hitting the ball the other way. This year, there weren't too many strikeouts. But toward the end, there were a lot of ground balls to the pull side. Offensively, it just didn't work out." With the Blue Jay's, Bradley Jr. didn't do much better. The 32-year old played in 40 games and went to the plate 80 times with the Jay's; unfortunately, he struggled with a batting average of .178 and only nine runs batted in along with one home run. The Bradley Jr. signing to me seems to be a defensive signing for the team, which makes quite a bit of sense following the trade of Michael A Taylor to the Twins, leaving the team pretty thin at the outfield position. The decision to bring in Bradley Jr, most likely could be due to the lack of experience the team has in the outfield, not to mention the injury to Drew Waters who will be out for a few weeks to start the season. Kansas City also believes the young players on the team can benefit from his veteran presence according to Royals manager Matt Quatraro: "I don’t ever think about bringing a guy in because he’s doing something other than performing on the field. That other kind of stuff is a byproduct of who he is as a person and his experiences. But when he comes here, he’s here to play well for himself and for the team. Guys will just see how he goes about his business and how he interacts with people, how professional he is. It’s definitely going to rub off.” According to The Boston Globe, Dodgers outfielder Mookie Betts said he was "in awe" when he met the college star in the fall instructional league. Former teammates and coaches raved about what type of person Bradley Jr is. According to assistant Red Sox General Manager Raquel Ferreira: "Jackie brings this calmness to everything he does and never makes a big deal about anything. His temperament is the same and it’s refreshing to have someone like that,” Based on what coaches and players from the Red Sox organization and the Royals organization, the outfielder seems to be a good leader and role model, which is a need for a Royals team that is very young on the offensive side of the ball. The question now is what does Bradley Jr. bring to the table as a player? First and foremost he brings great defensive abilities, which Royals fans know very well after watching Lorenzo Cain, Alex Gordon, Billy Hamilton and Michael A Taylor covering the large outfield at Kauffman Stadium. Lastly, the Royals are hoping the 32-year old can produce at the plate and possibly be trade bait for a team that is looking for an upgrade in the outfield or a bench piece for a postseason run.




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