One of the final high-ranked free agents came off the board Thursday when longtime Red Sox center fielder Jackie Bradley Jr. inked a two-year, $24MM contract with the Brewers. Bradley will make $13MM this year, and then he’ll have to decide whether to exercise an $11MM player option for 2022 next winter.
Few would have expected the Brewers to sign Bradley, but now that he’s part of the team, the 30-year-old should further strengthen their outfield. He won’t be their No. 1 center fielder – that job still belongs to Lorenzo Cain, who’s back after opting out of the majority of last season – but will join left fielder Christian Yelich to form a rather promising starting trio. The Brewers also have Avisail Garcia on hand as a fourth outfielder.
In Bradley, the Brewers are getting someone who had one of his most productive offensive years during his last year in Boston (120 wRC+ in 217 plate appearances). However, Bradley has typically been closer to OK than great at the plate, having slashed .239/.321/.412 (93 wRC+) with 98 home runs since he entered the majors in 2013. But Bradley ups his value with well-regarded base running and outstanding work in the field, where he has accumulated 53 Defensive Runs Saved and notched a 36.5 Ultimate Zone Rating across over 7,400 innings in the outfield.
Based on his history, the Brewers seem to have landed at least an average regular in Bradley, and if he’s at peak form, he could certainly amount to much more than that in their uniform. As such, it seems like a reasonable gamble – one that could improve Milwaukee’s chances of winning a wide-open National League Central in 2021. What do you think of the move?
(Poll link for app users)
Pretty sure the Brewers pitchers will love looking back and seeing an OF of Yelich, JBJ, and Cain, and an infield with Wong up the middle instead of Huira.
Junior just doesn’t get on base enough. 2017-2019 was below average getting on base. Defense is fine but you got to hit too.
Maybe he picks up a better bat in his new ballpark. If he can do that would be a steal at 12 per.
He does a lot of things on the field to help his team win. Of the “new” red sox – or whatever – he’s really the only one I could work up any kind of dislike towards. Which, red sox fans will know is actually a compliment from a Yankee fan.
Don’t get me wrong.
It’s not like Ortiz, or Varitek, or Rice. To this day I’d spit in those guys beers.
But he does make the Brewers better.
& I certainly don’t mind seeing him in the NL.
Feelin serious “82% on the test, B-” vibes from these comments
Ducky Buckin Fent- Yes you are right and I shouldn’t disregard the good things he does. Maybe after his all star year in ’16 I expected that or more with the bat each year. He did win a Gold Glove and can steal a base and comes ready to play. I wish him the best in Milwaukee and I hope he wears the Cubs out.
How could you ever spit in a fine Pilsner like a Miller lite anyway ??!
@Ward-
Fan expectations, man.
I’m a Yankee fan. I don’t think there’s a fan base that views their players in a harsher light than does ours.
If Stanton doesn’t hit 59 jacks he’s a bum who’s not worth 22MM. Sanchez set the world alight when he came up, had an abysmal ’20 & folks wanted to DFA him. Gleyber Torres is “not Derek Jeter”. Gio & Voit should be traded because they might be less valuable next winter.
I could go on & on.
It’s generally exactly what you alluded to. These players have somehow failed to live up to an (oftentimes unreasonable) expectation.
I’d rather try & appreciate a player for who they are then hold them to a standard that is – quite possibly – entirely unrealistic. I’m not saying that you did that in re to Bradley. But it does sound like there was some of that there.
@bot –
I’d probably have to dig down really deep to find the appropriate lack of class. Yet, I’d somehow manage.
Grading it for who, the Brewers or Bradley? Obviously that’s a big difference, for Milwaukee I’d give a Solid B but on the other hand I’d only give Jr. a stable B. Unbelievable!
Looks like an overpay but the Brew Crew. If of taken Pillar for a fraction of the price.
Huh?
If= I’d*
probably meant “I would have”
Dude pillar sucks and was a big overpay
Pillar is guaranteed less than a half of what JBJ will make in a single season. Pillar is guaranteed $3.6 million and has a $1.4 million buyout and $6.4 million 2021 option. $5 million guaranteed is not an overpay at all.
And Pillar is worst than JBJ.
Yeah it’s maybe a B-. Definitely makes the defense and depth much better. Possibly the lineup (mostly thanks to the depth)? Still feel like they could have used this amount of money more wisely, but I suppose it’s possible that wasn’t an option. David Stearns probably knows better than I would.
Should’ve got Justin Turner for 6-8 million more a year like 2 million more a year for an extra year
Turner never would have signed with the Brewers as long as the Dodgers offered him a decent contract
meh. not sure he’s worth 12, especially at this point in the offseason, but they have payroll to spare and it’s not a crazy commitment. the upside is there too.
Does this now make the Brewers the favorite to win the Central?
Nah. There is no favorite between the four major league teams in the division.
I think the reds are a tier below but yea it’s going to come down to one big injury there or here
StL is certainly the fav. Then Brewers. Reds and cubs have a lot to prove on field before they are back in that convo. They both have lost too much to give em a pass.
I don’t see the Cardinals as a favorite at all. They are in the mix just like the other teams.
The happiest team with this deal is the Rays, who are in heat trying to move KK, who’s pretty much the same guy as JBJ (minus JBJ’s better arm and reliability). Now they can move KK to a CF-needy team and justifiably claim they shouldn’t have to eat any of the money (JBJ’s contract = KK’s). If they get three guys sweeping the IF in the DSL, they’ll be happy.
Seems like an overpay to me (and I’m a huge JBJ fan), but MIL’s front office is shrewd, and might see something there.
The White Sox have a CF that is every bit as good defensively as JBJ. Hits pretty much the same.
95% of the people reading this don’t even know his name.
The real poll should be……
If JBJ had played his career in Cincy, Pittsburgh, Miami, Texas, Arizona, Baltimore or Colorado, would you know anything about him? Would you care about him?
Engel and Pillar getting tossed around as comps, but batting left-handed matters … a lot. NL Central especially is overloaded with RH starters.
Samuel…While I don’t disagree with your point about the visibility of players on small markets, there are plenty of baseball geeks that utilize this site/app.
I suspect those MLBTR readers who don’t know of Luis Robert is closer to half of your guess.
This is a very strange argument. Are you calling Chicago a small market?
I was not. I was referring to the OP’s statement of what the poll “should be.”
You are probably on mobile, where it is hard to tell, but I was replying to the OP.
Bradley, Cain and Yelich is a strong OF, if they all play as well as they have done in their career, Avisail is capable of playing 1B and is a good platoon partner or 4th OF, very nice move by the Brew Crew! They now have a backup plan if Cain is rusty after the opt-out 2020, with a quality CF. A typical Brewers signing and ought to fit well. Is 12M an overpay, i dont think so, hes surely comparable to other OF that have signed for that type of money or more!
I agree…good move by the Crew…makes them better for sure…and with the central this is not an overpay…the Crew is going for it and I am happy to see an ownership trying instead of tanking
Overpay to me when the Brewers needed a little more starting pitching. Hate to see guys on this thread say players suck, like the guy above on Pillar… so 21 Jack’s and 80+ RBI with solid D in CF now sucks? Give me a break. If JBJ had a more consistent bat then I could see this, but that is why the play the game. We will find out who was an overpay and who wasn’t.
Who were the brewers going to sign to help out the rotation? Ordorizzi? He is not a significant upgrade over Houser/Anderson and they have like 5/6 guys already who are capable of taking the 5th spot
Center Field is one of the lightest hitting positions in baseball. That takes some of the sting out of his less than impressive hitting profile making a slash line that might look something like .240/.320/.400 be more palatable.
I thought this is a good move by Milwaukee. They are finding things that they can be really good at, such as fielding, and going with it because everything else is more expensive. The Brewers defense, especially up the middle, isn’t going to let much through.
F. Hard F. This guy is a minor league signing / Spring invite, at best. $12M is a huge overpay.
He’s worth about 2.4 fWAR/150 games throughout the past 4 seasons. That’s worth far more than a minor league deal.
He played 150 games just once in his career and that was 6 seasons ago. Super glad you’re not running the team I support.
Still averaages 2.1 fWAR over 130 games. 2 WAR is about the league average, but I don’t get why you’re so defensive over it. Overall, he still averaged about 140-145 games a season between 2016 and 2019.
You do realize most starting caliber players don’t play 150 games every year, right? Managers give most scheduled days off to keep them fresh and allow their bodies time to recover because 162 games in 180 days takes a toll on even the the best athletes.
I think your expectations and evaluations of MLB players is a bit skewed. Especially when he was a consensus top 25 free agent this offseason. Is he a perfect player? No he’s not but he is far from a player not worthy of a 26 man roster spot on an playoff caliber team.
if drew smyly gets that kinda money, there is no way this is overpay, he produced what 40 frames of league-average or a little better pitching, JBJ produced 6 years of league average batting or near enough, and elite defence!
If he has a good season at the plate (like 2020 or even remotely close to it) he’ll be one of the biggest bargains of the offseason. Because he’s that good defensively… problem is… more often than not he’s a .225 hitter… so if he reverts to that… then it’s an overpay even with his stellar defense. As a Red Sox fan… he’s been frustrating to watch. Because he has months, heck even full seasons where he looks tremendous at the plate… then he goes 3 months where it looks like he has his eyes closed when he swing. So the point of saying that is… he IS capable of hitting. 275 with 25 Home Runs… at any given moment he can be one of the hottest hitters in baseball… he just can’t seem to consistently stay there… and he’s not young anymore so I think at this point he is what he is… but regardless I wish him well and who knows maybe a change of scenery makes him find some consistency he’s been lacking at the plate and he does put up another good to great seaaon.
Jeff Zanghi19 mins ago
more often than not he’s a .225 hitter
===============================================
If by ‘more often than not’ you mean once in the past 6 years, then sure.
But that’s not what ‘more often than not’ means.
Is there anything inherently wrong with simply referencing his actual stats?
JBJ
_________
AB – 2899
BA – .239
OBP – .321
OPS – .732
OPS + 94 (below average for his career)
BB – 304
SO – 828
SO – 29 percent
In 2016 JBJ had a 29 game hit streak which gave fans an unrealistic expectation of what kind of hitter JBJ is.
Hey guys! I am a brand new poster on this site! I am excited to be talking plenty of baseball with everyone here!
Welcome. Talking baseball is always fun. The Mets had a strong winter, so it will be interesting to see how things play out over the full season.
Had to get out from a Mets website. Didn’t like the boys on there.
If we could post gifs you’d be looking at at Bruce Willis welcoming you “to the party, kid”.
Haha
So, where is all that supposed “offseason goodwill” the Red Sox supposedly received by not trading JBJ at the deadline? I sure ain’t seeing it.
And to all those who asked me “If the Red Sox trade JBJ who do they stick out in center field?” The answer is the same guy they will stick out in center field now.
Isn’t Duran supposed to come up for them? They can be patient while they wait for him to finish his development in the minors!
You missed the point. After the deadline I (rightfully) called the Red Sox out for not trading JBJ when they had the chance. A bunch of Red Sox fans tried to defend them not trading the guy, with some people asking me “If they trade JBJ who do they put out in CF?” That is not a valid excuse because clearly, not trading JBJ didn’t stop them from needing to find a new CF.
They could go with Hernandez or Verdugo in CF. OF might be Gonzalez, Verdugo, and Renfroe. Perfectly capable OF system until Duran comes up. Not really a big deal that they lost JBJ!
Exactly. That’s why they should have traded him at the deadline. Or last offseason. That way they at least would have gotten something for him.
What would they have gotten for him you think though? U have to measure up his market value with the perceived value of losing him in FA. Don’t want to trade him for too low of a return.
Sometimes you get nothing for players when they leave that’s how it rolls.
@nymsuperfan does it matter? Nothing they could have gotten would have been worse than the nothing they ended up getting for him.
@theodore glass yes and they could have at least gotten something if they had traded him at the deadline.
Even though Boston didn’t trade JBJ at the deadline, I still give them an A for all the other trades they pulled off. Waiting to see which trade works out better; the Philly trade seems to be the best right now (Pivetta & Seabold) but the young pitcher they got for Pillar from Colorado could be their closer of the future. Local kid too who is beyond excited to play in his home town. I also like Hudson Potts quite a bit too. Nice return there (plus Rosario) for an aging Mitch Moreland. Chaim knocked it out of the park during last season’s trade deadline!
He had to trade Bradley and he didn’t
Nobody has brought up the big issue here. This signing pushes Avi Garcia to the bench and Tyrone Taylor to AAA. The Brewers simply didn’t need an outfielder.
Sure depth helps, but that money would be best spent elsewhere. I really want to like Sterns, but he neglects the rotation year after year for moves like this. “D” from me.
I do agree that I am surprised that Milwaukee got him!
Don’t think ya know the Crew well. They don’t care to be stockpiled in a position. Years ago… Travis Shaw at 3B, they trade for Mike Moustakas. Taylor is 4th OF at best.
Stearns doesn’t mind stockpiling in certain positions. Years ago… had Shaw at 3rd, traded for Moustakas. Taylor is 4th OF at best.
I don’t know much about Milwaukee. Don’t see too many fans of them these days. Id be happy to learn though.
“Years ago… had Shaw at 3rd, traded for Moustakas.”
And then they doubled down on the mistake and signed him again the next year. That’s exactly my point – Sterns overpays for duplicative position players meanwhile neglecting his rotation. To his credit, he’s made the playoffs quite a bit, but those teams have no chance in Oct.
Odorizzi, for example, would have made more sense for the same money
A 2.8 WAR for what 7 million (ended up being 10 million w/ the buyout)… in a 1-year contract isn’t so bad for Moustakas. Odorizzi is looking for a 3-year deal in the 40 million dollar range. Definitely not in the Brewers range as unless player developed in their system, it’s 2 years or less for a contract (especially with that kind of $$$).
1. Yeah, you don’t make these kinds of decisions based on whether or not Tyrone Taylor gets a roster spot.
2. Check team pitching stats from the last couple of seasons. On the surface, the names suggest that Brewers need several more quality pitchers if they want to compete; the stats suggest otherwise.
So which other available free agent would you have preferred they spent this money? They tried signing Turner. Their bullpen is solid and they already resigned Brett Anderson to go along with Woodruff, Burnes, Houser, Lindblom, Peralta, Lauer and Rasmussen. I honestly do not see a better option to improve the roster other than committing more money and years to Odorizzi who is coming off a terrible 2020 season.
To me, Jake Odorizzi would have made more sense. But if you’re talking this entire offseason, there are plenty of bargains this year. – Taijuan Walker and older guys like James Paxton and Cory Kluber would have made sense. I would like Mike Minor for them as well.
I don’t know how much they get out of Lindblom, Lauer, or Rasmussen. This is a big year for Peralta and I’d rather have Houser as my 4 or 5. They need better starting pitching.
I love it. With injuries that inevitably happen there will be time to go around. Garcia is 6’4” with a good glove. I could see him playing 1st
Defense is very underrated in baseball.
Defense, and especially OF defense, is actually probably overrated
Look at how many times they touch a ball a game. It averages less than 2. And of those, almost all of them are routine. Your impressive defense is only really going to show itself once every few weeks. We likely ascribe too much value to OF defense
Very okay w/ it as a Brewers fan. They’re very unique in finding a spot for players even when their position is taken. I’m betting they likely have concerns w/ Cain for a full season. Too much $$$? Yes. But, many other free agents were well overpaid for multi-year contracts, so won’t be stuck w/ him if it’s a poor season.
What up? Excited to see a Brewer fan. Don’t see them too often.
A) you are on a Brewers thread with Brewer fans B) the Brewers in recent years have been top 10 in attendance, so there are plenty of Brewers fans.
Here are the league average batting numbers for CF’s since 2017:
2017: .262/.333/.426, 760 OPS, .326 wOBA, 100 wRC+
2018: .249/.321/.400, .721 OPS, .313 wOBA, 96 wRC+
2019: .248/.320/.426, .746 OPS, .316 wOBA, 94 wRC+
2020: .239/.318/.406, .723 OPS, .314 wOBA, 96 wRC+
Jackie Bradley Jr. since 2017: .240/.324/.414, .737 OPS, .317 wOBA, 93 wRC+
Jackie Bradley Jr. 2017-2019: .234/.328/.409, .727 OPS, .312 wOBA, 90 wRC+
In the end, JBJ, at the very worst, is a slightly below average offensive CF with a plus glove. At his best, he’s essentially the most average offensive CF with a plus glove. He averages about 2 fWAR per season. I’d say he’s the closest thing to average in baseball right now. Maybe he’s not worth $12 million and probably closer to $8-$10 million, but we’re not talking about a $20 million AAV contract for the next 3-5 seasons.
Don’t forget his plus base running and plus plus arm. One of the best OF arms in all of baseball. When he gets hot at the plate, he is an absolute monster too. Too bad those stretches only last 2-3 weeks for him.
He has been a great defender and an average hitter with the Red Sox. I really liked him as a Red Sox fan despite his inconsistent bat!
BUT…The only real question is: WHAT IS HE GOING TO DO GOING FORWARD as his foot speed declines, and will he hit better in the NL. If I were a Brewer fan I would be glad he signed to see his great catches, but also glad that it is only for two years.
2 year $24 million is why he sat on the market for so long…seems too much for what production I would expect to receive
Seems like an awkward fit and a steep price for a guy who averaged a .725 OPS from 2017-2019. Numbers were up last year, of course (.814 OPS), but it seems fair to assume he would have ended up much closer to .725 had it been a full season.
I also wonder if the $13M for 2021 was much higher than the other offers he got since he won’t be playing CF.
OVERPAID – Congratulations to his agent on selling a Buick for Porsche money
Puig is still out there. I know he’s a mercurial personality but the talent and strength is undeniable. Given his one year absence from the game, he could have been signed for less than what JBJ got. And his arm is incredible.
At this point teams must think he is a detriment to team moral (cancer) or they are shutting him out intentionally
No one wants a cancer on their team…I would presume it is an individual team decision and not collusion against one individual player
Was a good signing for a year. If there isn’t a team opt out it remains to be seen if this will work out for the Brew Crew. I think Boras is a crack smoker. He wanted 5/60.
I love the signing. Good spot for him, good deal. I’m a fan of Stearns tbh.
In my heart’s heart, I grade this out as a C+ (79%). I take points off for what I consider an overpay, but ultimately the Brewers have bolstered their outfield with a excellent insurance piece in Jackie Bradley Jr.
He is a top tier defender that has shown over the years an ability to stay healthy on/off the field and to avoid being a complete liability with the bat (i.e Keon Broxton).
I personally don’t think he is worth as much as they are paying him, but I’d argue that getting him to sign for less then two years as opposed to the length he was searching for makes him well worth the money.
That’s not to say I don’t think players should ask for less or anything. I personally don’t think he is worth 12m as a player but could care less what he ultimately gets as either way I don’t get anything out of these deals anyways.
I just hope they don’t have a Beltran/Cameron incident. Someone could have died.
Cain reportedly doesn’t have his legs underneath him yet after sitting out 2020. (And he’s age 35.) This signing allows JBJ to play center field, move Cain to RF (easier job, might help his offense) and maybe make Garcia trade bait to a team looking for an outfielder soon. I wouldn’t put another trade past Stearns, to add 3B or SP depth (there is also trade-bait depth at SS).
As a Red Sox fan I’ve been dealing with the bum for his whole career. Is he the best defensive centerfielder in the league? Probably., but watching him hit low to mid 2 something is bad. Everyone points to the ALCS that he was the mvp of, what people fail to realize was, he only had 3 hits in the whole series. They were big, but they were few.
I too have watched him his whole career. He’s not a bum. A very fine person and very likable. Strong character. That said, he goes months when he is an automatic out.. Just clueless at the plate. Painful to watch.
I’m not sure this swings the pendulum in the Brewers direction in any way. He’s not a major impact bat, and the Brewers already have a very good defensive CF, so I don’t think this signing moves the needle, and gets them to move ahead of the Cards
You’re forgetting that the other really good Def CF is 35 and sat all of last yr. this allows his to start 100-120 games and stay fresh.
I still want + and – options for each grade, darn it!!! Wanted to give it a B- but upgraded a notch for the Crew only being on the hook for two seasons at most
It feels similar to the Adrian Beltre deal when he signed with the Red Sox way back in 2010.
I’m not a fan of this deal. There really is not much of an upside for the Brewers. He either plays well and declines the option or he stinks and they’re stuck with a light hitting corner OF (Cain is the CF) who Ks too much.
Best outcome for either result is he helps them to the World Series this year if he’s great, and they’re only on the hook for two years if he stinks.
It’s expensive but the Brewers have four quality outfielder’s now and depth should not be overlooked in a marathon season. Things happen and players need rest to keep them at full strength. Also this is another piece that will strengthen the bench, and allow Counsell to mix and match.
As for as pitching I look for Rasmussen to take a big step this year. Here’s a guy that is over two years removed from Tommy John surgery with an upper ninety’s fastball. The Brewers could possibly be looking at three studs at the top of the rotation if all goes well. I think the Brewers know what they have and felt the best move was to protect the position on the team that had the most vulnerability and lacked quality depth. They have highly thought of youngsters but there a year or two away from being productive.
Yes third base is a problem area as well but they failed with Turner and my guess is that it was their only true belief in solving that issue for a couple of years.