Blue Jays signing former Red Sox All-Star Jackie Bradley Jr.
Jackie Bradley Jr. is slated to become the newest member of the Toronto Blue Jays.
The Blue Jays are signing the 32-year-old centerfielder, who was released four days ago by the Boston Red Sox. He was hitting .210 with three home runs and 29 RBIs in 92 games played for Boston while earning $9.5 million.
OFFICIAL: We’ve signed OF Jackie Bradley Jr. to a one-year contract!
Additionally, RHP Matt Peacock has been designated for assignment and INF Otto Lopez has been optioned to Triple-A. pic.twitter.com/PyScxED4vq
— Toronto Blue Jays (@BlueJays) August 9, 2022
Zeke Telemaco was first to report.
“We were hoping, offensively, it was going to be a lot better than last year,” Red Sox manager Alex Cora said after releasing Bradley Jr., according to ESPN. “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.”
Bradley Jr., a career .228 hitter, was an All-Star in 2016 and earned MVP honours in the 2018 American League Championship Series.
His addition could be extra insurance for the Blue Jays.
Outfielder George Springer will be out of the team’s lineup for the foreseeable future after he was placed on the 10-day injured list with right elbow inflammation (retroactive to August 5) four days ago.
The Blue Jays already added Whit Merrifield, who can place both outfield and second base, from the Kansas City Royals on August 2, MLB trade deadline day.
Toronto’s outfield rotation now contains Springer, Merrifield, Bradley Jr., Lourdes Gurriel Jr., Teoscar Hernandez, Raimel Tapia, and Bradley Zimmer.
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