Red Sox Have No Plans to Play Jackie Bradley Jr. in Left Field, According to Manager John Farrell

by Ricky Doyle on Wed, Mar 20, 2013 at 12:28PM

Red Sox manager John Farrell will soon be forced to make a decision about whether Jackie Bradley Jr. will start the season in the majors. It appears the skipper has made at least one more minor decision regarding the outfielder, though.

Farrell told reporters on Tuesday that the Sox have no plans to use Bradley in left field.

“No, if he’s not in center, he’ll probably be in right,” Farrell told reporters.

Bradley’s natural position is center field, but many Red Sox fans have been calling for Farrell to plug the 23-year-old into left field while shifting Jonny Gomes to DH during David Ortiz‘s absence. That approach would seem to make sense if Bradley did make the major league roster out of camp, as he is a better defensive outfielder than Gomes, but it instead looks like Farrell would shift Shane Victorino over to left field while putting Bradley in right field.

This wouldn’t be that big of a deal, as Victorino played left field with the Dodgers last season. It’s something that’s worth noting, though, especially given the interesting dynamic of playing left field in the shadows of the Green Monster at Fenway Park.

Bradley enters Wednesday’s game against the Yankees having played 102 defensive innings this spring — 90 in center field and 12 in right field.