There’s absolutely no question that the New York Mets will exercise the $13 million dollar option on outfielder Jay Bruce as soon as the World Series comes to an end. That much is clear. What isn’t so clear is what happens next.
Clearly, Bruce had a rough go of it in New York, a city he hoped the Reds wouldn’t trade him to. “Yes, New York wasn’t on my list initially. Definitely I wasn’t as comfortable with New York as I was the other places, but I’m happy to be here.”
One look at his numbers before and after the trade, and you can see why so many Mets fans get squeamish at the mere mention of his name. And yes, Bruce finished the season strong, but we’re talking about eight games, and it happened right after he was embarrassed by Terry Collins who pinch hit Eric Campbell for him in a huge spot.
Over the final eight games of the season, Bruce batted .480 (12-for-25) with four homers and eight RBIs. However, in his 42 games before that hot streak, he batted .174/.252/.285 with four homers, 11 RBI a team worst .536 OPS in that span.
So if you’re Sandy Alderson do you bank on Bruce as your everyday right fielder next season, or do you trade him and try to recoup as much value as you can from a team looking to add some power?
According to Jon Heyman of Knuckleball, a rival executive thinks that picking up that option on Bruce could be precursor to a trade this offseason.
Yesterday, I wrote that if the Mets were to re-sign Yoenis Cespedes, it would likely mean that Michael Conforto starts the season in Triple-A. There’s no way the Mets will stunt his development by having him languish on the bench as a fifth outfielder. That’s no way to treat a first-round talent who has flashed some exciting potential in a few short spurts over parts of two seasons. The Mets are still very high on him.
But – and that’s a big but – if the Mets were to deal Bruce it changes everything. You could pencil Conforto in as your right fielder, with Cespedes in left field and a platoon of Curtis Granderson and Juan Lagares in center. It may even open up the fifth outfielder spot for Brandon Nimmo – who many scouts view as a highly productive part-time player anyway. Everything fits neatly into a tidy configuration with Jay Bruce out of the picture.
While I won’t cry you a river if the Mets were to hang onto Bruce and Conforto would have to wait another year to take over in right field, it would be a little scary to gamble on which Jay Bruce the Mets will get in 2017.
Look, we have never hesitated to hand precious rotation spots to our many talented pitching prospects over the last three years, and injuries aside, they’ve all been phenomenal. Maybe it’s time to start putting our confidence in some of the team’s top hitting prospects. Let Michael Conforto get a full shot as an everyday player – and that means leaving him in there against left-handed pitchers who he annihilated in the Minors.
I’d love to see Sandy Alderson show up at the Winter Meetings with Jay Bruce on the block and a half-dozen or more teams all competing for his power bat. I see this as an excellent opportunity for the team to recoup some value and perhaps swing themselves a solid reliever for the pen and a prospect we can stow away for the future.
Anyway, that/s what I’m thinking we should do and I look forward to reading your thoughts on trading Bruce or keeping him.
By the way, Mathew Brownstein wrote a nice piece last week that highlights some of the potential trade targets for Bruce. You can check it out here.
