After Sunday’s 4-1 win over the Giants in San Francisco, Mickey Callaway spoke briefly on the future of Jay Bruce at first base, saying he “thinks he looks good.”
“He is getting more and more comfortable the more games he plays. I think he is going to have the whole offseason to work at this if this is the route we are going to go. Gary DiSarcina and myself feel like he can do the job at first base from what we have seen so far,” Callaway told Mike Puma of the NY Post.
This comes after the Mets announced that they will not promote top prospect Peter Alonso due to a “lack of playing time” and “concerns about his defense.”
Bruce told Puma that to this point he feels comfortable fielding his position, but he is still learning the position as he goes along.
“I don’t think fielding the position is going to be an issue for me as far as straight-up ground balls. I feel I can get off the bag far enough to have range and stuff like that. But it’s going to be the nuances that are going to be the most important,” Bruce added.
With each road trip, Bruce has been asking some of the top first baseman around the league for some pointers. He’s already picked the brains of his former teammate Joey Votto, as well as Anthony Rizzo of the Cubs, and Brandon Belt of the Giants.
“Votto is very good with the technical things at first base, so if I have a question I ask him.. Rizzo is just out there and playing ball. I talked to him about how he gets off the bag and uses his legs, stuff like that. It’s been good. I try to gather as much information as I can,” Bruce said.
Bruce, 31, has two years and $26 million left on his contract. In 2018, he has battled his fair share of injuries, and is enduring one of the worst seasons of his career. For his career, he has posted a -1 DRS, and this year he is hitting .218/.295/.336 with just four home runs and 19 RBI’s.
With the current plan of having Michael Conforto and Brandon Nimmo locked into corner outfield spots until Yoenis Cespedes returns, and Pete Alonso very loudly knocking on the door, it’s hard to see Jay Bruce actually lasting much longer in a prominent role for the Mets going forward.
