The Long Island Ducks of the Atlantic League announced that they have signed outfielder Jackie Bradley Jr. He’s the second former big leaguer they’ve signed this week, joining left-hander Wei-Yin Chen, who signed with the Ducks on Tuesday as he apparently embarks on an age-38 comeback attempt.
Bradley, 34 this month, has played in the past 11 major league seasons, carving out a career as a superb defender in the outfield who could occasionally chip in with the bat and on the basepaths as well.
There were some whispers over the winter that Bradley was considering retirement but it was reported in February that he was open to continuing his career and was working out in the hopes of finding a club for the 2024 season. It seems he didn’t find an opportunity to his liking from an MLB club but will get some game action with the Ducks. The Atlantic League is an official partner league of MLB so perhaps Bradley can use this signing as a platform to getting back to the big leagues.
Bradley is within range of 10 years of major league service time, currently with a tally of nine years and 57 days, putting him 115 days shy of that milestone. It’s a significant marker for players both due to the fact that there are significant benefits in the MLBPA pension plan for those over the ten-year line and due to the symbolism of reaching a feat that fewer than 10 percent of players get to.
He has played in 1,182 major league games to this point, racking up 78 Defensive Runs Saved and 62 Outs Above Average in the process. Both of those figures place him in the top 10 among outfielders from 2013 to the present. Even as he’s moved towards his mid-30s in recent seasons, his glovework has continued to receive positive grades.
The offense has been less consistent. His best stretch at the plate was with the Red Sox in 2015 and 2016. He hit 36 home runs over those two seasons and slashed .262/.345/.489 for a wRC+ of 119. For the next three years, he settled in as a subpar hitter, but just barely. He combined for a line of .234/.318/.409 for the 2017 through 2019 seasons, with a wRC+ of 90 over that stretch.
He then had a well-timed surge in the shortened 2020 season, hitting seven home runs and batting .283/.364/.450 for a 118 wRC+ just as he was going into free agency for the first time. He was able to parlay that into a two-year, $24MM deal with the Brewers but his offense crashed after signing that pact and never really recovered. He has hit .176/.238/.275 since the start of the 2021 season, wRC+ of 40, while bouncing from the Brewers to the Red Sox, Blue Jays and Royals.