Some will cite his NL-leading 80 RBIs as reason enough for the trade, but that’s silly: A player’s RBI total is largely dependent on his circumstances, and Bruce spent most of his time in Cincinnati this season hitting one or two spots behind on-base machine Joey Votto. Cessa made a few appearances for the Yankees at the beginning of the season, but is now a pitching for their AAA-team, the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders.
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“It will be a big impact”, Mets manager Terry Collins said of adding Bruce. Niese, who was drafted by the Mets in 2005 and played parts of eight seasons with the club, was acquired from Pittsburgh on Monday in exchange for LHP Antonio Bastardo.
Remember, it was right before the end of last year’s trade deadline that NY plucked Yoenis Cespedes from the Detroit Tigers. Cespedes has blossomed in NY, hitting. Last year, there was some insane stuff at the Deadline.
Asking Mets outfielders who is willing to play center field is like asking remedial math students to do your taxes: Even if they say yes, it may not be such a good idea.
“Somebody like Jay Bruce can be a catalyst for a more productive performance out of other players in the middle of the lineup”, Alderson said.
“Had we been able to score some runs this week, we’d be in better shape right now”, Collins said.
The Mets sit at 54-50, in third place in the National League East and 6.5 games behind the Washington Nationals.
With every Mets starter except Bruce getting at least one hit, the Mets rolled to a 7-1 victory over the Yankees at Citi Field.
Bailey, who just returned from the disabled list, said he thinks the disappointment he expressed was felt universally within the team.
BRIEFS: Cespedes (strained right quad) didn’t start for the third straight game, but laced a pinch-hit single in the seventh.
With the acquisition of Bruce, Granderson, Michael Conforto, and Cespedes (when healthy) will share time in center field, which is a defensive liability.
“It’s not an absolute flawless fit for us. So we’ve got to mix and match”. I think this year some small, small changes that I actually noticed the past two years – and being healthy – is key.
Bruce’s arrival is similar to that of Cespedes’ last season, but Bruce isn’t putting that pressure on himself to carry the team in a similar fashion. The outfielder’s name had popped up in trade rumors for more than a year, and he’d twice been on the verge of being moved before deals were canceled. Right? When we were kids, they popped off the back of baseball cards. A downside has been his career-long penchant for following a torrid streak with an incredibly cold one.
He is due roughly $5 million the rest of this season with a $13 million team option or $1 million buyout for 2017.
“It definitely shows that they’re doing everything they can to help us”, Mets second baseman Neil Walker said.
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What about Alejandro De Aza, Brandon Nimmo, and newly signed Justin Ruggiano?
