Jackie Bradley Jr.’s Contract Demand is Surprising

Jackie Bradley Jr. is one of the free agents that has yet to sign a contract with a matter of weeks before Spring Training is scheduled to begin. You would think that if he hasn’t signed yet, then there isn’t too much interest in him. But, it looks like the opposite, according to Mike Puma of the NY Post.

Puma reported Wednesday on Twitter that Bradley is looking for a contract that approaches or even exceeds four years. That long of a contract would be very surprising to the baseball world because he is already 31 years old and isn’t a great all around player like George Springer is–who received a six-year deal from Toronto this winter.

Bradley is known as being one of the best defensive center fielders in the league, but his bat is what holds him back. Bradley has a lifetime batting average of .231 which probably doesn’t make teams run to offer him a long-term deal.

MLB Trade Rumors projected that Bradley would receive half of what he’s looking for–a two-year pact worth $16 million. There were a few fits for his services at the beginning of the offseason, so either those teams are really interested or there are more teams than we think who want him.

The New York Mets are one of the best fits for Bradley. They want a defensive-minded center fielder because it would allow them to shift on-base machine, Brandon Nimmo, over to left field where he wouldn’t hurt the team with his glove as much as he would in center field. But, who knows if they are comfortable bringing Bradley in for four years when they have 2020 first-round pick Pete Crow-Armstrong developing through their farm system.

Does Bradley end up getting four years from a team? It looks like it is a possibility with a couple weeks to go before the trucks head to Arizona and Florida.

(Photo: Michael Dwyer/AP)