Mets manager Terry Collins told reporters today that right fielder Jay Bruce will get at least some exposure playing first base during Grapefruit League games this Spring. The move will help give the Mets another option to turn to if things should go awry with regular first baseman Lucas Duda who is coming off a season that limited him to just 47 games due to a fractured back.
Bruce has played only three games at first base in his career, back in 2014. He committed two errors in those games with Cincinnati and the Reds never played him there again. Collins noted that, “We’re not pushing it on him.”
Michael Conforto was also supposed to log some time at first base this Spring according to comments made by Collins over the Winter. But Sandy Alderson nixed that idea on Saturday and then Collins backpedaled on it Sunday saying that “Conforto already had enough on his plate.”
As it stands right now, Jay Bruce is expected be the Mets’ everyday right fielder to begin the 2017 season, according to Sandy Alderson who also hinted that Conforto would likely start the season in Triple-A Las Vegas.
However, Collins left open the possibility that Conforto not only makes the Opening Day roster but the lineup as well. “There are ways to get him into the lineup, and if he starts swinging the bat, it’s going to be hard to keep him off. We are going to take the best 25 guys at the end of spring training.”
The best 25 guys? Where have I heard that one before?
