MLB trade rumors: Red Sox declined Dodgers’ Jackie Bradley Jr. for Yasiel Puig offer

The Red Sox have hinted that Jackie Bradley Jr. is on the trading block if it means acquiring a power bat in return, but the team quickly declined a trade offer from the Dodgers involving Yasiel Puig, according to Alex Speier of the Boston Globe.

The Dodgers had presented the trade idea to the Red Sox, who reportedly declined quickly. Puig would have added power to a Red Sox lineup aching for the long ball, as the 27-year-old slugged 28 home runs in a bounce-back 2017 campaign. He hit just 11 home runs the season prior.

Puig finished the 2017 season slashing .263/.346/.487 compared to Bradley’s 2.45/.323/.402.

While Bradley slumped at the plate for much of last season, some are attributing it a knee injury at the start of the season which could have impacted his performance.

Puig’s right-handed stroke could have also played well off the Green Monster in Fenway Park, but as Speier reports, the Red Sox quick rejection of the offer shows what they think of Bradley, despite a down season at the plate in 2016. The 27-year-old is one of the best defensive center fielders in baseball, and still has three years of team control. Simply put, the Red Sox think they can do better than Puig.