Saying Good-Bye To Old Friends And Hello To A New Podcast

It sounds like Jackie Bradley, Jr. is headed elsewhere and I talk to Chad Finn about Dustin Pedroia

It’s hard to imagine a Red Sox outfield without Jackie Bradley, Jr. in the middle of it. We’ll do a proper send-off later if and when Bradley leaves, but it’s starting to sound as if he’s leaving. Buster Olney reported Sunday that Bradley is unlikely to return to Boston and indeed might get a three-year deal elsewhere. If a three year deal is available somewhere the Red Sox are definitely out. They might *MIGHT* be in on a two year deal, but even that is doubtful. So unless Bradley wants to come back to Boston so badly he’s willing to sacrifice millions and millions of dollars to do it… well, yeah.

I had been hoping that a reunion with Bradley was still on the table. And that’s not just sentimentality talking. He fits in pretty well with this roster, a lefty on a predominately right-handed roster, and a true center fielder on a team without one.

One particular problem Bradley solves is right field. Signing Bradley lets Boston move Verdugo out of center and back to right, where he played well last season. Verdugo isn’t Mookie Betts - a sentence I get the sense I’ll be writing a lot over the next five years - but he’s a pretty good right fielder, likely much better defensively in right than in center.

Moving Verdugo to right also solves the problem of over-extending current right fielder and over-extension candidate Hunter Renfroe. Yes, Renfroe looks like Mike Trout, but he ain’t Mike Trout. He’s a flawed player who can help the team in a limited role, but depending on him to play every day, as the Red Sox depth chart currently does, is asking for a problem, or at least demanding a solution Renfroe isn’t equipped to provide. Bradley’s defense and bat are better than Renfroe’s and so adding Bradley makes the team better this year.

That all said, there are real reasons the Red Sox might not want to bring him back. They are pretty close to the luxury tax threshold (grumble grumble grumble). Cots Contracts has them with about $8 million of cap room. That might be enough to sign Bradley, but it doesn’t leave much room for anything else.

Beyond the finances, the Red Sox have Jaren Duran in the minor leagues, a center field prospect they’re pretty high on. Teams such as the Red Sox should not hold positions open for prospects on the possibility that they A) show up on time, and B) are able to impact the team, but it’s possible the Red Sox feel differently. It’s also possible the Red Sox are fine with Duran’s timetable, whatever it may be, because they’re fine with Alex Verdugo manning center field in 2021. That wouldn’t be my preferred outcome, but the Red Sox have better information than I do.

Also, if it takes a three-year deal to do it, adding Bradley to make the team better this year impacts the team next year and the year after, and I’m virtually certain the Red Sox don’t want to hand out a guarantee of that length to a non-star player.

Hopefully Olney’s report isn’t correct and the Sox are about to sign Bradley to a two-year deal in addition to agreeing to his contractual request to ship cupcakes to all Red Sox fans everywhere immediately. I would like a cupcake.

Dustin Pedroia is still retired

In other news, Dustin Pedroia is still retired and the internet has responded with good writing. You can and should read my piece on Pedroia here at Sox Outsider. I hope it does justice to the man and his career. Beyond that, here are some Dustin Pedroia pieces that are worth reading.

• Chad Finn wrote about Pedroia’s career with special attention to how it all began.

• Jon Couture at Boston.com wrote about Pedroia and how he compared to another Boston Red Sox icon, Nomar Garciaparra.

• Also at The Globe, Dan Shaughnessy spoke to Theo Epstein and Terry Francona about Pedroia. Definitely recommended reading here.

• Jason Mastrodonato wrote at the Boston Herald that Pedroia deserves enshrinement in the Hall of Fame. I tend to agree.

• Over at MLB.com, Michael Clair compiled the 13 best Dustin Pedroia quotes, and there are some doozies.

• Chad Jennings at The Athletic wrote a really nice piece about his personal experience with Pedroia and how Pedroia values his family.

• And at Over The Monster, Matt Collins wrote a nice tribute to Pedroia.

I recommend all those pieces. They all touch on different aspects of the man, the myth, the most intimidating 5’6 legend in tight pants imaginable, Dustin Pedroia.

Red Sox Outsider Podcast, Episode 2 with Chad Finn is live

Lastly, if you’re not Pedroia’d out, you can check out the latest edition of the Sox Outsider Podcast in which I interview Chad Finn about Dustin Pedroia. We talked about Pedroia’s career, how he came up in the minors and his problems acclimating to the majors. We covered his Hall of Fame chances, and maybe kinda sorta break some news on that front. Finally, Chad and I talked about a piece he wrote for The Globe on what the Red Sox have to do to be good this year. It was a great discussion and I really appreciate Chad lending his time. I hope you enjoy it.

You can listen to the podcast on iTunes by clicking this right here and I’m working on getting it into as many podcast networks as will have me. If there’s anywhere you’d like to hear it, let me know in the comments and I’ll put it on the list.