Philadelphia Phillies: Could Dombrowski target Jackie Bradley Jr.?

The Philadelphia Phillies could be in the mix for former Dave Dombrowski-favorite Jackie Bradley Jr.

With Dave Dombrowski now officially in charge, the Philadelphia Phillies are set to head in a completely different direction moving forward. Gone are the days of Andy MacPhail and Matt Klentak running this team into the ground, while the hope is that Dombrowski (a 2x World Series champion) can guide the Phils to a higher level of success.

There’s obvious reason for concern when it comes to Dombrowski running your baseball team, as he’s developed a reputation for himself as someone who goes “all in”, as opposed to building sustainable winners. He had an abundance of recent success in Detroit and Boston, but left both organizations in pretty dire states. Whether you subscribe to this type of management, the ultimate hope is that Dombrowski can salvage Bryce Harper‘s prime over the next four years.

With all that in mind, fans are now anxiously awaiting Dombrowski’s first move as President of Baseball Ops. Plenty of people have speculated that a large trade is looming, but it’s possible that he first looks towards the free agent market. One of Dave’s favorite players from Boston is currently available to be signed, and the Phillies have an underrated need at the position that he would fill.

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Jackie Bradley Jr., one of the best defensive center fielders in the game, was a crucial piece to Dombrowski’s World Series winning Red Sox squad. He won a Gold Glove that year (2018), and won the ALCS MVP due to his 1.067 OPS.

Dombrowski’s affection for JBJ withstanding, the Phillies themselves have shown quite a bit of interest in the veteran outfielder as of late. They were linked to him heading into both the 2019 and 2020 deadline, and their CF position remains somewhat up in the air. The team would ideally like to return Scott Kingery to second base on a more permanent basis, and the likes of Adam Haseley and Mickey Moniak both have a level of uncertainty to them.

Roman Quinn is another name worth nothing in the outfield, but he ideally should be no more than a bench bat/pinch runner moving forward.

There’s an argument to be made that the Philadelphia Phillies should “see what they have” in Haseley and Moniak before bringing in another veteran outfielder, especially with the team looking to retool here in 2021. However, Dave Dombrowski has never been one to shy away from adding talent, and Bradley Jr. might just be too much for him to pass up.

According to Spotrac.com, Bradley Jr.’s projected market value is roughly $11 million, which honestly might be out of the Phillies price range this winter. Owner John Middleton has remained insistent that he wants to shed salary this offseason, and that in theory hasn’t changed despite the Dombrowski hiring.

Next. Philadelphia Phillies: The pros and cons of hiring Dave Dombrowski. dark

With all that said, it’s never say never when it comes to Dombrowski and making “win now” moves. He’s being brought in to win baseball games, and ultimately speaking, JBJ brings the Phillies closer to that goal. If the outfielder’s price tag starts to come down, and Dombrowski convinces Middleton to pull out the checkbook for his former Boston star, this type of move definitely isn’t impossible.

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