As much as the Mets welcome the bat of Jay Bruce, the question now is who will play center field? “I just didn’t know which one was gonna happen”. They weren’t wrong to acquire him.
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“We’re happy that we have him for this season”, Alderson said of Bruce.
Acquiring Bruce adds to a crowded outfield for the Mets with Curtis Granderson in right field, Cespedes in left field and Michael Conforto in center field.
There is an obvious need for Bruce on the Mets to bolster their offense, but there is always the worry of his defense.
“This was a very hard trade for us to make because of how our fans, ownership and everyone in our organization feel about Jay, but we acquired two quality players who better fit the direction our organization is heading”, said Reds President of Baseball Operations Walt Jocketty. Alderson acknowledged that Bruce is “not an absolute ideal fit for us”.
Bruce, who has a team option on his contract at $13 million for next season, will be insurance in the outfield in case Cespedes decides to sign elsewhere after this season.
The Reds and Cardinals will play six times over the next nine days, beginning with this week’s three-game set.
A day after he was acquired from the Cincinnati Reds, Bruce went 0 for 4 with a flyout, groundout and two called strikeouts in the New York Mets’ 7-1 Subway Series win over the Yankees on Tuesday night.
Cincinnati is into its second year of rebuilding, trading any high-priced veteran it can. After finally getting him just before Monday’s nonwaiver trade deadline, GM Sandy Alderson acknowledged that he is not a ideal fit.
Bruce will love it here in NY, as the fans are behind their team.
“Herrera, 22, was once regarded as the Mets” future second baseman. He said the team was beginning to feel like it was building momentum toward the 2017 season, similar to the way it generated momentum before a division title in 2010.
Nimmo, the highlight of the package sent to the Reds, has hit just.236 with a HR and 5 RBIs in his short big league career (18 games) but is hitting an impressive.336 in Triple-A this year. Do the Rays deal a starter, or, more likely, Steve Pearce? . Bastardo was underwhelming this season in Queens and Niese fell out of favor with the Pirates’ Gm who famously said he should have taken prospects for Walker instead of Niese this last offseason.
“I think there will be some things that will be addressed”, Collins said. “There’s still some guys that are still here that were here a year ago”.
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“There’s been a lot of talk in our clubhouse the last few days: ‘Are we going to get someone?'” Mets manager Terry Collins said. The left-hander agreed to a $12 million, two-year deal with NY in January and is owed $6.5 million in 2017.
