Jay Bruce
Despite just being traded to the New York Mets last season, Jay Bruce might not find himself in New York in 2017. Due to his excessively large contract, and the recent re-signing of Yoenis Cespedes, the Mets are looking to trade Bruce away. The problem for the Mets is, with quality options such as Dexter Fowler on the market, Bruce’s value may be at a low point. The Mets may lose a lot of value after the Bruce trade, but it may be best in the long run.
With such a young outfield, a dark horse candidate for Bruce would be the Los Angeles Dodgers. The desirable factor of Bruce to Los Angeles is that can likely keep their farm in tact. With the ability to seemingly always swallow big contracts, the Dodgers may reach out for Bruce. To acquire Bruce, Los Angeles may only need to trade away Yasiel Puig and a low-level rotation arm such as Scott Kazmir. This could finally end the Yasiel Puig trade talks, and add veteran leadership in the outfield.
The problem with this is the Dodgers are horrible at hitting left-handed pitching. Bruce only hinders the Dodgers further against left-handers. However, a team like the Rays could potentially sneak in and get Bruce. Already signing Wilson Ramos, the Rays are showing that they want to compete in 2017. Bruce could DH for the Rays. and they likely could get away with a straight swap for Alex Cobb or Jake Odorizzi.