Blue Jays: Why adding Jackie Bradley Jr. is a bit confusing

The Blue Jays announced that they’ve signed Jackie Bradley Jr. to join the big league roster, and I’m a little bit confused by the decision.

On the surface it makes sense that the Jays might be interested in a veteran centre fielder that became available, especially because George Springer has landed back on the Injured List. However, I’m not sure that Bradley Jr. brings anything to the table that Blue Jays can truly use, other than depth and another veteran voice in the clubhouse. Maybe that’s what this is about, but I’m still a little confused about the move.

I can’t see a scenario where the Blue Jays would use JBJ as a starter for more than the occasional off day, and it’s hard to see even a smaller role for him off the bench. I suppose he could join Bradley Zimmer in the late innings to replace guys like Teoscar Hernandez and Lourdes Gurriel Jr. on defence, but outside of that it’s hard to imagine much playing time for him.

Back in Boston this year, Bradley Jr. made a fair amount of starts, but he also filled a role as a late-inning defensive replacement in centre field. The Blue Jays already have a player like that in Zimmer, and I would argue that there’s no upgrade in that department by bringing Bradley Jr. in. The same goes for a role as a pinch runner, as Zimmer is much faster.

As far as starts in centre field, I’ve gotta think that John Schneider will likely roll with some sort of job share between Raimel Tapia and Whit Merrifield. Granted, neither can play defence on the level that Zimmer or Bradley Jr. can, but both bring a lot more to the plate with their hitting skills.

For what it’s worth, here are a couple of examples of as Springer-less starting lineup that I think we’ll see from the Blue Jays over the next week or two:

1- Gurriel Jr. (LF)
2- Guerrero Jr. (DH)
3- Kirk (C)
4- Hernandez (RF)
5- Bichette (SS)
6- Tapia (CF)
7- Chapman (3B)
8- Merrifield (2B)
9- Biggio (1B)

And on days when the Blue Jays are facing a lefty, or just don’t like the match-up for Tapia:

1- Gurriel Jr. (LF)
2- Guerrero Jr. (1B)
3- Kirk (DH)
4- Hernandez (RF)
5- Bichette (SS)
6- Chapman (3B)
7- Merrifield (CF)
8- Espinal (2B)
9- Jansen (C)

It would help if Bradley Jr. was still producing at the plate like he has earlier in his career, but unfortunately he doesn’t bring much to table in that department these days. He was hitting just .210/.257/.326 in Boston this year before he was designated for assignment, and it wasn’t a small sample size either, as he made 290 plate appearances. After slashing just .163/.239/.261 last season while in Milwaukee, expecting a sudden surge at the plate would be foolish.

To be fair, it’s not like I have a major problem with the Blue Jays added another veteran to the roster, and maybe this really is about depth and adding another experienced voice to the locker room. As for producing on the field, I’m not sure that Bradley Jr. will see many opportunities, but I guess you never know what could happen over the last 50-odd games left in the 2022 campaign.