Jackie Bradley Jr. Forcing Himself to Follow Justin Turner’s Path

Pitchers and catchers report to Spring Training this week, but former Red Sox center fielder Jackie Bradley Jr. still hasn’t found a home yet. A big reason why he hasn’t landed on a team yet is because of what his agent, Scott Boras, is demanding. It has been reported that Boras wants a team to give Bradley a four-year deal despite him being a 30-year-old outfielder who is a career .239 hitter.

Bradley’s representation needs to come back down to earth and realize that there’s no team that would give Bradley a long-term deal considering owners lost money last year and Bradley just isn’t a complete player.

Red Sox Chief Baseball Officer, Chaim Bloom, has left the door cracked open to Bradley returning but has said the deal has to make sense for the organization. After signing Marwin Gonzalez (who can play the outfield), bringing Bradley back on any deal past one or two years doesn’t make sense. The organization wants to see what they have in newly acquired outfielder, Franchy Cordero, and if Bradley came back then Cordero wouldn’t get much playing time.

Boston is projected to have a $188 million payroll if no other moves were made, so money isn’t a factor here at least for this season. The problem is Bradley wants a longer contract than any team wants to give him. Justin Turner wanted a four-year deal just like Bradley at the beginning of the offseason but he realized he set his sights too high, instead signing a two-year, $34 million contract this past weekend.

Bradley will come to that same realization soon enough.

(Photo: Julio Cortez/AP)