The return of Jackie Bradley Jr. was short lived, with the Red Sox designating him for assignment today. The move opens up a roster spot for newly acquired first baseman Eric Hosmer, and opens up playing time in the outfield for Jarren Duran and Tommy Pham.
Bradley, who turned 32 in April, started out with the Sox, putting up one All-Star season in eight years and winning a World Series in Boston before signing with the Milwaukee Brewers as a free agent last summer. He returned to Boston as part of the Hunter Renfroe deal, but could never quite find his footing at the plate.
Bradley’s value was always in his defense, but his offense this season was especially problematic. He leaves Boston with a .210 batting average, an OBP of just .257 and an OPS of .578. By contrast, his OPS in his All Star season was .835 and it was .814 when he left Boston to sign a two-year, $24 million deal with Milwaukee. He hit 3 home runs this season, two of them coming in the past two weeks.
Bradley is still very much a plus as a defensive outfielder, so it’s likely he’ll find his way onto a contender looking for some part-time help. He still has a lot of value to a team looking to close out late leads.