According to Marc Carig of Newsday, teams have called the Mets to inquire about the availability of Jay Bruce, Michael Conforto, and Curtis Granderson. Carig did not indicate which teams approached the Mets, what the Mets asking price on any of these players would be, or even if the Mets are even interested in moving any of the three players.
Bruce, 29, has one year and $13 million remaining on his contract. After being acquired by the Mets at the trade deadline in exchange for Dilson Herrera and Max Wotell. In his 50 games as a Met, Bruce hit .219/.294/.391 with eight homers, and 19 RBI. In his nine year career, Bruce has hit .248/.318/.467 while averaging 27 homers and 82 RBI.
Conforto, 23, was the Mets 2014 first round draft pick, and he is under team control until 2022. In April, Conforto seemed as if he was going to build off a strong rookie campaign. After April, Conforto’s season was marred by slumps, injury, and multiple demotions. In his brief career, Conforto is hitting .238/.319/.414 with 21 homers and 68 RBI in 165 games. If he remains with the Mets, the team has talked about playing him in any number of positions including all three outfield spots and first base.
Granderson, 35, is in the last year of his four year deal with the Mets, and he is set to make $15 million. In his Mets career, he has hit .241/.342/.436 while averaging 25 homers and 65 RBI. His best year with the Mets was 2015 when he hit leadoff, and he was a finalist for the Gold Glove Award for right field. Given the state of flux of the Mets outfield, Granderson has indicated to the team he would be willing to play center field again next year if need be.
As of this moment, the Mets could very well elect to keep all three outfielders along with Juan Lagares who could once again serve as a platoon and late inning defensive option. Realistically, the Mets will not need to move any of these players unless the team was to re-sign Yoenis Cespedes or sign another outfielder in free agency.
Overall, it is not surprising other teams have interest in the Mets outfielders. Time will tell as to what, if any, moves the Mets will make to improve the 2017 team.
