Jackie Bradley Jr. didn’t have the best April, but Alex Cora hasn’t lost any confidence in his center fielder.
Bradley finished April with a dismal .148 average, hitting just three extra-base hits while striking out 30 times. While it could be easy to see why Cora would elect to take him out of the lineup and give him a day or two of rest, it doesn’t seem like that’s not going to happen.
“He’s attacking that first pitch a little bit more,” Cora said, via MassLive. “Results have been on and off. He walked a few times. He hit one to (third baseman Matt) Chapman the other day. That’s what we want. (Chapman) was just right there. He hit one back up the middle, a line drive. So it’s been better. I know the numbers are the numbers. But I think approach-wise, a little bit better this homestand.”
The skipper also noted Bradley’s defense, which resulted in him winning a Gold Glove last season.
“You know what he brings defensively,” Cora said. “When he’s doing things like this: putting the ball in play, staying up the middle, you want to keep rolling with him because you feeling like he’s close enough that he can take off.”
Red Sox fans know what the outfielder is capable of doing (see: The 2018 American League Champion Series), so it’s just a waiting game until he breaks out of his slump.
