The New York Mets have a surplus of starting pitching, with a rotation that is anchored by Matt Harvey and Jacob deGrom and now the added expertise of Noah Syndergaard. The Mets have been forced to keep down arms like Dillon Gee and Zack Wheeler.
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But the Mets offense is a different story as they boast the worst run production in all of MLB. Their .235 batting average is not exactly playoff worthy either. David Wright‘s continuous injury problems have left the team’s offense without a pulse and that kind of thing can usually be detrimental to playoff hopes.
And yet the Mets find themselves only three games out of the NL East and arguably one big run producer away from getting a leg up on the Washington Nationals.
Enter Jay Bruce.
Bruce is back to delivering his token numbers at the plate for the wholesale Cincinnati Reds. Although the stock at the Red’s flea market has dwindled, Jay Bruce is still going to be moved, as they look to fetch a pretty big return for their left-handed power man.
Andy Martino indicated that the only hang-up was over whether or not Zack Wheeler was enough.
Gap to bridge between #mets #reds last night involved whether Wheeler enough. "Should b interesting" said 1 official of today. Still talking
— Andy Martino (@martinonyc) July 31, 2015
If that is the only hang up, it sounds like the deal is already done, the two sides are just ironing out the details to make it fair for both sides. Ken Rosenthal has also been tracking the deal, indicating that it is going to be completed in time.
Sources: #Mets worked into night on trade for #Reds’ Bruce. Expectation among many in industry is that deal will happen.
— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) July 31, 2015
Jay Bruce would give the Met’s a shot of life where they need it most, as his 17 home runs would be second only to Lucas Duda and his 57 RBIs would be second to none.
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From a perspective of who they would lose, the New York Mets have nothing to worry about. They have a surplus of young starting pitching with plenty of guys waiting in the ranks for the call, so to lose one of that mass in Zack Wheeler would not be detrimental to their current or future hopes by any means.
Meanwhile, the Reds will get a young starting pitcher that will be given the opportunity he was not afforded in New York, seeing as how Cincinnati have shipped off Cueto and Leake.
This deal is a win-win, and those kinds of deals rarely fall through in this day and age.
Next: Red Sox Digging for Pitching
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