The Cincinnati Reds are selling and contenders are biting. The New York Mets now have an updated outfield and a very good power hitter in Jay Bruce.
The New York Mets have officially won the Jay Bruce sweepstakes.
It seems reminiscent of the Yoenis Cespedes trade from 2015. The Mets weren’t in talks for the Home Run Derby Champion for days or even hours before the 4:00 PM deadline, but made the move that boosted their offense.
Now, when all signs pointed to the Dodgers, Giants and Rangers, the Mets have pulled off another quiet trade for an All-Star outfielder. It was first reported by Buster Olney of ESPN that the Mets were close to landing Bruce:
The Mets are on the verge of finishing a deal for Jay Bruce.
— Buster Olney (@Buster_ESPN) August 1, 2016
Bruce will help a Mets outfield that has struggling Michael Conforto starting in center field. It looks like Curtis Granderson will slide over to center, with Bruce taking over right in Citi Field. Conforto is hitting .221 and Granderson is hitting .234. The Mets are ranked 28th in overall offense and have the league’s worst batting average.
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Bruce is having one of his best offensive seasons yet. He’s hitting .265 with 25 home runs, 80 RBI, 22 doubles and six triples. His home run and RBI totals now make him the leader on the club; the closest RBI leader is Cespedes with 58. His offensive runs above average (per Fangraphs) is 9.7, and he is slugging the ball at an all-time career high rate.
In 21 career games at Citi Field, Bruce has slugged five home runs and driven in 13 runs, but has batted just .186. Bruce tends to pull most of his home runs to the right part of the field and will have to adapt to the larger Citi Field right field dimensions.
The only other concern with Bruce is his fielding. He’s made five errors this season and has a horrific -16 defensive runs above average. This will guarantee that Bruce won’t get a tryout in center.
The Mets will send Dilson Herrera to Cincy. Herrera was once considered the second baseman of the future in New York. This year he’s hitting .276 with 13 home runs and 55 RBI at the AAA level. He has a ton of potential, and could be on the Reds roster the rest of this season.
The other player going to the Reds is Max Wotell. Wotell was the Met’s 16th best prospect. The pitcher is 3-1 with a 3.94 ERA in six games started in the AAP league. He is a projected three years away from MLB, but has a lot of potential.
The big plus for the Mets is that they get to keep Brandon Nimmo. It was reported for most of the day that he was the headliner going to Cincinnati, but was pulled at the last second. This means the Mets can be flexible with a defensive substitution, and they didn’t have to give up their top outfield prospect.
In the present, the Mets get a good, proven, veteran outfielder who may be able to help them contend in October. Yoenis Cespedes has an opt-out option at the end of the year, and if exercised, Bruce can step right in.
Only time will tell if the trade will pay off come next season, but it was needed for the Mets to have a shot at contention.