FORT MYERS, Fla. — Despite coming off back-to-back division titles, these 2018 Red Sox seem to inspire inordinate doubt and skepticism. Mookie Betts, Xander Bogaerts, Dustin Pedroia, and David Price have alternately talked about leadership, handling things better, and the joylessness of the 2017 season. On Saturday, Price was spotted wearing a white hoodie with “We Need Leaders’’ printed on the back.

And then there’s Jackie Bradley Jr., the spectacular center fielder who is the second-longest-tenured Red Sox player behind Pedroia.

Anyone remember Bradley’s spring training in 2013? He was the only positive thing the Sox had going into that season. They were still reeling from the 2012 Bobby Valentine train wreck, which had come on the heels of the 2011 chicken-and-beer collapse, after which a lot of people either left or got fired. In the spring of ’13, the Sox had no hope, other than a Double A outfielder who batted .419 in Florida and made himself the Sox’ youngest Opening Day starter since Dwight Evans.

JBJ was all the rage. He started in left field in Yankee Stadium on Opening Day. He was the franchise’s future.

And then he started 3 for 31 and was optioned to Triple A Pawtucket.

What does he know now that he didn’t know then?

“A lot,’’ he said. “You learn as you get older and you play the game and experience it. You continue to move forward.’’

Bradley turns 28 in April.

“I feel wiser,’’ he said. “I was just a young kid trying to get my work in and have fun then and that’s what I was able to do.’’

There is a slight weariness to him. He’s learned that in Boston the highs are higher and the lows are lower. He’s experienced plenty of both.

Bradley was on the Lou Merloni Pawtucket Shuttle in 2013, 2014, and 2015. He had his breakout year in 2016, when he started the All-Star Game and finished with 26 homers, a .267 average, and 87 RBIs. But last year he slumped to .245 with 17 homers and 63 RBIs in 133 games — a season he characterizes as “subpar.’’

More than any of his teammates, Bradley’s name surfaces in trade rumors.

We had him going to the Giants. We had him going to the Cubs for Kyle Schwarber. We had him as part of a deal to bring Giancarlo Stanton to the Hub. We had him in a deal for Jose Abreu. We had him going to the Dodgers for Yasiel Puig, then to the Indians for Edwin Encarnarcion.

Why you, Jackie?

“A hot commodity,’’ he said with a smile.

There was more disrespect this weekend when the folks at Yahoo Sports made JBJ the center fielder on their All-Overrated team. Bradley responded to the shot by retweeting the item, accompanied by an emoji of hands applauding.

“It’s out there, it’s a social media world,’’ he said with a shrug. “I want to get better regardless, so I don’t need anyone to motivate me. I motivate myself.’’

He’s a career .239 hitter with a .720 OPS. In two postseasons he has batted .160 with 13 strikeouts and no walks in 25 at-bats. He is one of the best center fielders to have patrolled the Fenway lawn, but he is still waiting for his first Gold Glove. Meanwhile, the analytics army loves him for his defense. Bradley has a career WAR of 10.8. No one really knows what that means, but evidently it’s why you don’t trade him for a guy who can hit 35-40 homers. Bradley is also under team control through 2020.

Does he want to be a Red Sox lifer?

“Why does that matter?’’ he asked back. “That’s out of my control. I want to win championships and I’m excited to be here. This is the team that drafted me. I don’t know anything different. All I know is this organization and the great things it’s done for me . . . I want to help my team. I want to be a part of something great and I feel like the guys here are amazing. It’s a very tight-knit group and I’ve definitely enjoyed getting to learn everyone and the staff, the people we work with day in and day out. It’s really amazing.’’

Asked about his reaction to Betts’s and Bogaerts’s comments that the workplace was somewhat joyless last year, Bradley said, “Ninety-three wins looked great to me. We were first in the division. But everyone has their own perspective.’’

Finally, the same question we asked Fred Lynn, Jim Rice, Bruce Hurst, Nomar Garciaparra, Carl Crawford, Jacoby Ellsbury, and David Price.

Do you like playing in Boston?

“I love winning. And this organization does a lot of winning.’’

OK, then.

Dan Shaughnessy can be reached at dshaughnessy@globe.com