Following up his previous report from a few days ago, Mike Puma of the New York Post tweets that the Mets and Jay Bruce’s agent have convened at the Winter Meetings.
While there is no deal on the table, the Mets remain very interested, but are also exploring other needs at the moment.
Original report – Dec. 9
To solidify their outfield, the Mets are exploring a deal with a familiar face.
According to Mike Puma of the New York Post, the Mets are set to meet with Jay Bruce‘s agent at the Winter Meetings, which start tomorrow.
Puma adds that up to this point, discussions with Bruce have been preliminary in nature.
The 30-year-old clubbed 29 home runs and drove in 75 runs while hitting .256/.321/.520 in 448 plate appearances for New York in 2017 prior to being traded to the Cleveland Indians.
Bruce had reportedly been seeking a five-year deal in the $90 million range, though I expect he will get something closer to Jon Heyman’s prediction of three years and $36 million.
Bringing back Bruce would be a solid move for New York to help replenish some of the power they traded away over the summer, while having a quality veteran presence in the locker room.
The only reservation I have is that Bruce might be more inclined to sign on the West Coast, in Texas where he is from, or to stay in Ohio. However, he has proven he can hit here and I believe he embraced the Big Apple.
