The Future Is Now

Tuesday, March 26, 2013

Scott Cordischi, GoLocalWorcester Sports Editor

Opening Day is just a week away and there is only one question that Red Sox fans are awaiting an answer on. Will 22-year old outfielder Jackie Bradley Jr. make the opening day roster?

If earning a spot on the opening day roster were based solely on one’s performance in spring training, then Bradley would not only have a spot on the roster, he’d be in the starting line-up!

Jackie Bradley Jr.

Of those who have played regularly for Boston this spring, Bradley leads everyone in batting average (.444), on-base percentage (.523), slugging percentage (.667), hits (24), walks (8), homeruns (2) and RBI (11).

It’s no secret that Bradley is one of the organization’s highest rated prospects. However, many believed that he would spend at least one more year in the minors before getting his Big League shot.

Bradley has changed that way of thinking with his stellar play in Fort Myers putting the organization in a very interesting position.

Unlike the Kansas City’s and Tampa Bay’s of the world, the Red Sox have always had the luxury of slowly developing their minor league talent. Because they have one of the larger payrolls in all of baseball, there has never been a need to rely on rushing young talent to the Majors too soon.

But things have changed over the past year or two. Even though the Sox still spend plenty of money on payroll, they have fallen out of favor with their fan base.

The main reason for that has to do with losing too many games. But some of it also had to do with the team’s poor decision to spend boatloads of money on free agents who were busts.

As a result, for the first time in many years, there seems to be a great deal of apathy amongst Red Sox Nation.

Red Sox ownership, always conscious of public perception, has let their overly PR-conscious way of thinking cloud their judgement when it comes making personnel decisions. What will they do now?

On one hand, making Bradley your starting left fielder on opening day in New York would be a public relations homerun with the fans and the media that cover the team. For there has been no better feel-good story this spring at JetBlue Park.

But this can’t be about making a PR splash. This decision has to be strictly about what is best for this year’s team and what is best for Jackie Bradley Jr.

On the one hand, no one will argue that Bradley doesn’t deserve a spot in the staring line-up this season. Behind Jacoby Ellsbury, he is the team’s second best outfielder.

In addition to that, with no David Ortiz in the line-up on Opening Day, Boston is in need of some punch in their line-up and this young man just might be able to provide it.

But there’s also the flip side of the story.

Once the Red Sox decide to have Bradley on the 25-man roster, his 6-year clock officially begins. That means that he will be under the organization’s control for the next 6 years before becoming eligible for free agency. Do they want to start that clock now not knowing how competitive they will be this season?

There’s also the risk of a young player struggling at the Big League level early in his career to the point where he has to be sent back to the minors. Sometimes players never recover from that and are often never heard from again.

The eye test would suggest that this will not be the case with Jackie Bradley Jr. In addition to being a super-talented young man, he also seems to have a pretty good head on his shoulders.

There will be many arguments made for and against putting Bradley on the Opening Day roster, but none of them should ultimately matter.

This young man has not only earned a spot in the Boston Red Sox dugout at Yankee Stadium next Monday, he has earned a spot in the starting line-up as well.

The future is now.