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.

Colorado Rockies

The Mets and Rockies squared off in Colorado at the beginning of the week and Bruce ended up going 3-for-13 with two home runs, a double, two runs scored and three RBI. The reason that Bruce would make sense for Colorado would be that they have received the worst production out of right field of any big league team and the Rockies are closing in on a playoff spot, currently holding a 5.5 game lead over the Milwaukee Brewers. We all know what the Crew does with 5.5 game leads–just ask the Chicago Cubs who trailed by that margin at the break and now hold a half-game game lead in the NL Central.

The Rockies could use a boost to make it into the Wild Card game, presumably to face the Arizona Diamondbacks for the millionth time this season, so any improvements that can be made could not only get them to that game, but also past it and into a date with the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Carlos Gonzalez has been with the Rockies for nearly a decade, and he has spent the majority of that time in right field, often dazzling in the process. This season CarGo has a -1.4 bWAR (-1.8 fWAR) and holds a wRC+ of 50, which is half the production of an average player and 72 percent less production than Jay Bruce this year.

Adding Bruce wouldn’t cost the Rox too much in the way of prospects, given how late in the season it is, so really there is no reason not to add him if the focus is on winning. Of course there are some complications that arise if Colorado is planning to offer Gonzalez a deal this winter, because his playing time would diminish greatly.

It should also be noted that if the Rockies and Dodgers meet up in the NLDS, Bruce is 6-for-23 against Clayton Kershaw with three home runs in his career, and has been even better against Yu Darvish, going 4-for-6 with a pair of dingers.

Before you start on with the whole “but his defense” argument, Bruce has saved six runs while playing right for the Mets this season and has a UZR/150 of 4.6. Both are better than Gonzalez in 2017.

Over the past three seasons at Coors, Bruce is 16-for-50 (.320) with a .740 slugging percentage and a 1.060 OPS. It’s safe to say he’d do well in purple.

Kansas City Royals

The Kansas City Royals have been hot and cold all season long, but with the trade deadline having passed while they were on a high note, they’re now all in the rest of the way. One facet they could stand to improve upon is their run-scoring ability, which, after a dreadful April they have risen up the ranks to 24th in baseball in runs scored. That’s the worst showing from any legitimate playoff hopeful.

As a whole, the Royals offense has performed 12 percent below league average, and adding Bruce’s 22 percent surplus would bring them a little closer to even. Plus, he’s a masher, something that the Royals targeted this past offseason.

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Bruce could be added as a replacement for Brandon Moss, who has been the team’s DH for the majority of the year. The 33-year-old is batting .212 with 14 homers and 29 RBI this season, but he’s also under contract for 2018 and has a $10M mutual option for 2019, so it’s not as easy as just designating Moss for assignment. He’s not necessarily the problem, either.

Instead, they could take Alex Gordon (yes, this is blasphemy) out of a starting role, move Melky Cabrera over to left where he had been spending his time with the White Sox, and place Bruce in right. Gordon could then become a defensive replacement late in games if need be.

Gordon is another player that is under contract past this season, but with so many current Royals likely to land elsewhere in the offseason, he’s long-term playing time is not in jeopardy. Instead, if Gordon buys in to this plan (and he should, he has a wRC+ of 58), it could increase their odds of success in the postseason, should they make it.

The Royals are going for it this season, so whatever it takes to get the job done should be on the table for Kansas City. Whether that means acquiring Bruce, benching one of the faces of the franchise or bringing back the lucky praying mantis, just make sure it gets done.