Before the Mets defeated the Tigers 5-2 on Sunday, Jay Bruce fielded grounders at first base for the first time since he arrived to camp in Port St. Lucie. Manager Terry Collins was on hand to watch Bruce perform and talked about it after the game.
“I liked everything I saw today. It looks like he’s got the athleticism, he’s got the hands, he’s got the arm angle,” Collins said. “He made some throws in our drills that you wouldn’t expect an outfielder to be able to make, but yet he does. If that’s where we have to go, I think we’ll be fine.” (Mike Puma, New York Post)
Bruce, 30, appears willing to do whatever it takes to make a successful transition if and when the Mets call on him to take over at first base for a day, a week or however long is necessary.
“I am going to work at it,” Bruce said. “I want to give myself a chance and the team a chance. I am not going to go over there and be a butcher. It’s just not the way I go about my business on the baseball field and it wouldn’t be fair to the team if I wasn’t capable to do it, so I am going to work at it and we’ll see what happens.”
Oddly enough, Collins said there are no immediate plans to play Bruce at first base in an exhibition game, but maybe, perhaps, possibly,toward the end of spring training.
Everything of course hinges on the health and well-being of Lucas Duda, who recently received two cortisone injections for hip and back pain. He is expected to miss a few days while the injections take effect. Duda missed most of last season with a stress fracture in his back.
