The MLB Winter Meetings ended last Thursday and the Boston Red Sox were among some of the active clubs during those few days. However, rumors suggest president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski was unwilling to move one player.
Outfielder Jackie Bradley Jr., who was garnering interest at the onset of the offseason, was the player Dombrowski refused to discuss in trade talks with the Chicago Cubs and Kansas City Royals.
To be fair, after the Red Sox traded for closer Craig Kimbrel and signed David Price and Chris Young, Dombrowski said the team would probably be done making "major moves."
At the Winter Meetings the Red Sox stayed active and traded Wade Miley to the Seattle Mariners and Garin Cecchini to the Milwaukee Brewers, but neither deal was significant enough to be categorized as a "major move." Bradley was a player that would have seemingly fit that description.
"A few teams, including the Royals and Cubs, inquired about Jackie Bradley Jr. at the Winter Meetings but were told by the Red Sox he was not available," writes Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe.
"The Royals have had their eye on Bradley as a possible replacement for Alex Gordon."
"The Cubs, in need of a center fielder, had Bradley high atop their list but opted for big-ticket item Jason Heyward, who is likely to shift from right field."
The problem is that the Red Sox have a deep farm system and one of the most talented rosters in the MLB, so they probably wouldn't be getting anything they necessarily need right now in a deal for Bradley. Their only glaring weaknesses were among the pitching staff, but Dombrowski helped that unit by adding Price, Kimbrel and Carson Smith (in the Miley trade).
Additionally, there's no shortage of talent among their MLB position players or in the farm system, which, even after trading four prospects in the Kimbrel deal, is still one of the deepest in the MLB (Baseball America ranked them second in 2014 and 2015).
Boston simply has a surplus of talent at all levels of their organization, so trading a young player with great upside such as Bradley doesn't make that much sense, despite all of the trade rumors that surrounded him this offseason. It was mentioned the team might look to "sell high" on the 25-year-old, but at this point it almost seems like it'd be more of a risk because the players they'd get in return for Bradley may be inferior to him as well as those already in their farm system.
The offseason is still young and Dombrowski may change his mind at some point, but right now it doesn't appear as if dealing Bradley is on his agenda.
