Red Sox vs. Indians Roster Breakdown: OF and DH

Center Field

Jackie Bradley Jr. survived the Chris Sale trade rumors, and is slated to continue his role as Boston’s everyday center fielder. The 26-year old has always been a demon with the glove, consistently rating as one of baseball’s top overall defenders.

But the walking highlight reel had long faced questions about his bat in the big leagues. He could always hit in the minors, but his first two seasons up in Boston were plagued with sub-.200 batting averages and sky-high strikeout rates. Then in 2015, something clicked for JBJ. The strikeouts persisted, but the power spiked and the batting average climbed. All of a sudden, Bradley Jr. and his .249/.335/.498 slash line was a legitimate two-way player.

That made 2016 an important season for him, a 162-game long test to see whether he had truly discovered his major league stroke. JBJ responded with his first All-Star appearance, fueled by his .267/.349/.486 line, 63 extra-base hits, and 87 RBIs. Also encouraging was the lowered strikeout rate from 27.1% to 22.5%. That’s an above-average center fielder, before taking into account his defense.

JBJ totaled 11 defensive runs saved and a 4.5 UZR in 2016, cementing his status among players like Kevin Kiermaier, Adam Eaton, and teammate Mookie Betts as the MLB’s top defensive outfielders. All this resulted in his All-Star worthy 5.3 WAR, making it clear that Bradley Jr. had finally found his place in the majors.

There are still lingering concerns about his consistency, however. One month, JBJ could be hitting like Ted Williams (see: his 29-game hitting streak), but the next he’d be more akin to a National League pitcher. These frustrating bouts make it difficult to count on JBJ at the plate day-in and day-out, but his overall body of work more than justifies his spot as an elite two-way player.

The Indians counter with Tyler Naquin, a rookie in 2016 who impressed many in his own right. Finishing third in the AL Rookie of the Year race, Naquin came out swinging in 2016, and got results. He hit .341 in April before cooling off a bit in May and then going on a summer rampage. His OPS for the months of June and July was over 1.000 (for reference, Miguel Cabrera’s OPS was .999 when he won the Triple Crown in 2012). However, it seemed that pitchers made the adjustment to Naquin in the later months, as his production fell off a cliff in August (.589 OPS) before recovering slightly in September and October (.716).

Overall, Naquin’s .296/.372/.514 slash line is extremely impressive and resulted in a higher OPS+ than JBJ (126 to 116). But what separates the two by a country mile is defense. While JBJ’s defensive super-stardom has been established, Naquin has far more to prove. His defensive runs saved were a damning -18 to go along with -6.3 UZR. These are deep negative numbers, and suggest that Naquin is perhaps better suited for a corner outfield spot than in center, but center is where he’s currently slotted.

So while Naquin rates as perhaps the better hitter (assuming he doesn’t regress in 2017, which may be a tough assumption to make given his late-season slump), the difference in defensive prowess at a cornerstone defensive position makes this contest easy to call for the Red Sox.

Advantage: Red Sox