The 2020 MLB Trade Deadline came and gone. Despite the fact that the Red Sox are in the midst of a fire sale, Jackie Bradley Jr remains on the roster. Bradley is a free agent after this season and Boston elected not to trade him. Many including myself wondered why JBJ wasn’t moved during a total rebuild season. Chaim Bloom gave us the reason why.
Chaim Bloom made it clear that the Red Sox want to keep JBJ long term:
“We love Jackie,” Bloom said after the trade deadline Monday. “That shouldn’t be news. He’s been here for a long time, he means an enormous amount to this organization. For me personally, having not known him as long, I’ve still just come to regard him so highly and see what an incredible person he is. We know he’s a good player. We’d love to have him here for a long time. That was the case months ago, it was the case yesterday, it was the case today.
“That’s how we’ve always felt about Jackie.”
I’m so happy Bloom came out and said this. It wasn’t some sort of BS answer that was like “we didn’t find an offer” or “we like Jackie”. His answer was we value Jackie a lot and plan on keeping him in a Red Sox uniform for a long time. That’s the answer I want if you’re not going to trade him.
I’ve always been a Jackie Bradley Jr fan. He’s the best defensive centerfielder in the game. In 30 games this season, Bradley has posted a .242 batting average, .303 on base percentage and .343 slugging percentage. If Bradley continues to do that and play A+ defense, he’s an asset worth keeping. I just hope Bloom is able to sign Bradley long term.
