Just before the MLB lockout went into effect, Jackie Bradley Jr. was traded back to the Boston Red Sox following a season with the Milwaukee Brewers.
The transaction, in which the Red Sox sent Hunter Renfroe to the National League, was really only notable for the reunion of Bradley with Boston, where he'd spent the first eight seasons of his career. After all, he'd hit a dreadful .163 over 387 at-bats for the Brew Crew in 2021 and will in all likelihood serve as a backup for the Red Sox moving forward.
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SIGN UP HERE Rather, the most exciting part of the deal involved where Bradley was when he found out he was headed back to Boston. According to Pete Abraham of the Boston Globe, Bradley was at the wedding of none other than former teammate Mookie Betts in California.
Have to love Betts have a phones-free wedding and encouraging his guests to simply enjoy the moment. Although it certainly must have made for some interesting conversations after Bradley returned from his phone break. You have to wonder how the groom felt about his guest being traded back to the team which had shipped him to the Los Angeles Dodgers in February 2020 despite winning American League MVP less than two years earlier.
Betts and Bradley were both drafted by the Red Sox in 2011, Theo Epstein's final season as general manager, a draft haul which included productive major leaguers such as Matt Barnes and Travis Shaw.
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Over eight seasons with Boston, Bradley hit .239 with 98 home runs, 376 runs batted in and a .732 OPS. He was an All-Star in 2016 and won a Gold Glove in 2018, the same season he was named MVP of the American League Championship Series against the Houston Astros.
Bradley, 31, has one year remaining on a two-year, $24 million pact he signed with the Brewers in March 2021.
