Written by R.J. Anderson at CBS Sports.com
On Tuesday, the Boston Red Sox lost Jackie Bradley Jr. to a sprained thumb — an injury that landed him on the disabled list. In response, the Red Sox have made a move to reinforce their outfield.
Boston has traded for Rajai Davis of the Oakland Athletics in exchange for minor-league Rafael Rincones, according to the teams:
The #RedSox today acquired OF Rajai Davis from the Oakland A’s in exchange for minor league OF Rafael Rincones. pic.twitter.com/hzJyI7IKKP
— Red Sox (@RedSox) August 23, 2017
Davis has hit .233/.294/.353 in 100 games on the season. He’s stolen 26 bases on 32 tries while playing center field more often than not. While Davis has possessed top-notch speed throughout his career, his defense isn’t as good as it could be due to his questionable route running. Nonetheless, Davis gives the Red Sox another option in the outfield to pair with Andrew Benintendi, Mookie Betts, and Chris Young — as well as a potential pinch-running specialist come postseason time.
It does not appear the Davis addition indicates Bradley Jr. is likely to miss more time than expected:
Dombrowski said move doesn’t reflect a greater level of concern for Bradley but did note that the Bradley MRI expedited the trade.
— Evan Drellich (@EvanDrellich) August 23, 2017
Rincones is an 18-year-old who didn’t rank in MLB.com’s top 30 list of Red Sox prospects. He’s hit .258/.373/.369 while playing for the Red Sox’s Dominican Summer League team.
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