In response to softlaw2's comment:
Keeping him out for 9 games vs losing another full year of control is probably the smart move here.
Add to it that the kid has yet to play AAA ball and I think the answer is obvious.
Let him get his hacks in at Pawtucket then bring him up to aclimate him to the big leagues for next season.
Who knows, as often as Ellsbury seems to be able to injure himself, JBJ may get a lot of ML playing time this year.
Chris, you seem to be doing nothing more than repeating buzz phrases like "control", and spouting out the reflex company line. There is no "control", it's called arbitration award. Bradley's arbitration award, in 7 years vs. his market for one year of FA is something that you don't have a clue about. Ellsbury's getting nearly 10 million a year from arbitration awards. The notion that the Red Sox need to focus less on the best line-up for winning as many of the first or any 9 baseball games during the first half of the season, just to bean count on what would amount to 5 or 10M speculative costs 7 years from now, that's utterly incompetent!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
And the notion that a couple more weeks of AAA, because he hasn't done AAA yet, is lazy bugaboo! Lebron James didn't play college basketball.
Management will actually go on the PR crusade to defend a move like this, which can't be defended because it's a big market team who spends a fortune on toilet seats and gets no points for a bureaucratic hypocritical bean counting move like this!
I notice this guy is acting as of Bradley on the roster means that he'll be a bench OF'er because Ellsbury is in CF? What! If the Red Sox management is so stupid that they don't start Bradley in LF, they are more incompetent than I though. Gomes and Nava or Sweeney or Carp, Red Sox fans should boycott if they make a move like that.
It's real simple. 7 years from now, if Bradley is still around and fit and playing well in MLB as a starter, it's a grain of sand on a beach for the Red Sox to spend on the difference in the arbitration award and first free agent year for Bradley, Jr. If they don't like him enough to sign him to a FA contract, they don't need to be doing this stupid nonsense they are doing with Ellsbury. They need to trade him before it gets to this nonsense.
The best lineup to give the Red Sox the best chance to win any set of 9 games during the first half of the season to see if they want to become a minor league exhibition team like last year's 2nd half or not, the best lineup since they refuse to trade Ellsbury is:
Bradley LF (reamins to be seen but gets on base and has speed)
Ellsbury CF (hits LP and RP very similarly)
Shane RF (hits LHP decently because he's not really a switchhitter)
Gomes should be the 4th OF'er, Nava should be the 5th OF'er/backup 1st base.
Gomes and Nava should DH until Ortiz comes off the DL.
Bradley gives the team charisma, excitement, the leadership of a proven championship player, and it gives them a very strong, overall, defensive OF. Better to have Shane's v. LP starting than Gomes.
Gomes is the perfect pinch hitter bat, once Ortiz comes back. If the game is late, and they trail and they need the long ball, Gomes is perfect guy to pinch hit for everyone in the lineup except for Middlebrooks Pedroia and Napoli. Unless someone is red hot in those situations, Gomes should pinch hit for Ellsbury or Bradley or the SS and catcher slot.
Gomes should play the OF as little as possible. Sweeney should be waived and assigned to the minors if he clears waivers, and there is a good chance he will.
I think I said nobody would complain if he was on the opening day roster and stayed with the team all season long.
Like many others, I'm just trying to guess what our Front Office will do, so please don't take my thoughts as being what I demand.....they are what I think the FO will believe is the smart BB decision.
I'm just looking at how I think Ben and the gang will answer this question. My guess is that JBJ will either start the season in AAA or at some point during the year spend at least 20 games in the minors.
If I'm wrong and our FO decides otherwise, like I said.......I won't complain a bit about it.
However, if it WAS up to me, I'd trade the 9 games for another year. I fully understand where you're coming from, but if the Sox aren't going to be good enough to make up any lost games that JBJ could have won for us in the first 9 games, then I don't see the point.
edit: I should add to this by saying I would have no problem starting the season with JBJ on the roster, but at some point (when Ortiz comes back) I would send him to AAA for 20 games to delay his free agency by a year. I understand that this team shouldn't be worried about a few million bucks 7 years from now, but then again, those few million bucks add up to the point where we end up trading guys like AGon, Beckett, Crawford and Punto don't they..? It may sound silly for the Sox to be looking to save money, but from a business sense, it makes all the sense in the world to extend a players free agency...........that is if you really believe in him. It may not be the best team would could put on the field for the 1st 9 games this season, but given the trade off and knowing there are 153 games to go, I think I would take that chance........but that's just me.
