Finding a landing spot for Jay Bruce

The New York Mets are well behind in the playoff race and have already moved a couple of pieces with their sights turned to 2018. Jay Bruce could still find a new home before the end of August, so let’s take a look at which clubs could use his services.

This season has not gone the way that the New York Mets had hoped with just about everyone in their rotation ending up on the disabled list this year. Their offense has improved from the 2016 version, moving up from 25th in runs scored a year ago to where they currently sit at number 14. Jay Bruce has been a big part of that increase with his 29 homers and 75 RBI.

In addition to the traditional stats, Bruce also has a wRC+ of 123 and a fWAR of 2.2 to go along with a triple slash line of .262/.325/.531. Among qualified right fielders, his WAR total ranks eighth while his wRC+ comes in one spot higher at seventh.

According to Ken Rosenthal, Jay Bruce has cleared revocable waivers and can now be traded to any team not on his limited no-trade list. The one caveat that comes with acquiring Bruce is that he is also owed roughly $4 million the rest of the way.

The list of teams on Bruce’s no-trade list have not been made public, but I’m working under the assumption that with just a couple of months left until he hits the open market, a move to any team in contention would be a good thing for the 30-year-old since more exposure in a tight race would presumably mean more dollar bills in his bank account this winter.

If he joins a team that makes it to October and he has a big postseason moment, that could be worth an extra couple of million bucks to the right club. The alternative would be staying in New York to finish out his deal and letting the season he has had thus far in baseball’s biggest market speak for itself.

So working under the assumption that he could conceivably go anywhere this month, here is a look at the teams that could use his services the most.