Red Sox Call Up Jackie Bradley Jr. From Triple-A Pawtucket
BOSTON (CBS) -- Jackie Bradley Jr. is getting his first shot in the big leagues in 2015.
The outfielder was called up to the Red Sox on Tuesday, due to an illness that will keep Mike Napoli out of the lineup for "the next couple of days," according to manager John Farrell.
"We need to add another position player. Mike Napoli is still day-to-day, and with last night's outing of Joe Kelly and the way we came through last night, we feel like our bullpen is caught up enough to go back to 12 pitchers," Farrell said.
Bradley was hitting .315 with seven doubles in 73 at-bats for the PawSox so far this season. That came after a spring in which Bradley hit .378 with a .906 OPS in 18 games.
Despite the solid numbers, Farrell said that he does not anticipate Bradley will get much time, if any, in the starting lineup.
"Jackie will be in a reserve role coming off the bench," Farrell said.
The manager was quick to praise Bradley's swing, which looks much improved from last year, when he batted .198 in the majors and .212 in Triple-A.
"He's maintained the swing that he showed in spring training, which I think is the stroke that he had as an amateur and in the early days of his pro career," Farrell said. "I thought last year there was maybe some length added to his swing, opened up some holes. But it's more of an all-field, line-drive approach that he's maintained."
As for Napoli, Farrell said that the first baseman has a bug and is contagious, "so we've got to be careful of exposure around everybody."
