Jay Bruce has officially joined the New York Mets from the Cincinnati Reds in a bid to strengthen their offense. Sandy Alderson, the Mets GM, confirmed that even though some medical issues had blocked the finalization of the trade on Monday, the deal is now sealed. Since Brandon Nimmo was involved in an earlier trade, Cincinnati officials became worried about a fractionally torn tendon in his left foot, which resulted from late January injury.
However, it is still unclear if the medical issue was the issue that reconfigured the trade deal. Again, in a left-hander swap deal, Jonathon Niese reunited with the Mets from the Pittsburgh Pirates for Antonio Bastardo to beat the trade cutoff date on Mondayand to stir the MLB sports betting odds.
The 29-year-old Bruce has been with the Reds for nine years since he started his NFL career. He is this season’s leader with 80 RBIs in the National League, 25 homers and averaging .265 in batting. As stated by Elias Sports Bureau, Bruce is the first player to be traded while still leading in RBIs during the season since the MLB approved the start in 1920. In his entire career, Bruce stats stand at .249 hitter, 233 home runs, and 718 RBIs.
The Reds acquired Dilson Herrera, the second baseman, and Max Wotell, the left-hander, who are 20- and 19-years-old respectively. In 103 plate appearances last season, Herrera batted .211 with the Mets, a .276 hitter with 13 homers. This season, he has 55 RBIs at Triple-A Las Vegas. The Mets drafted Wotell in last years’ third-round draft. In six starts of the Appalachian League, he had a 3-1 with a 4.25 ERA for Kingsport.
The Mets has viewed Herrera as their future second baseman, and his presence justified the last off-season’s reluctance to acquire Daniel Murphy when he decamped to the Washington Nationals. According to Alderson, many changes have occurred, and the Mets are prepared to cover their 2017 second base since they expect to lose Neil Walker to free agency. Gavin Cecchini is also on Alderson list of potential option for 2017 second-base.
Bruce’s contract comfortably places the Mets at $13 million worth in 2017, along with a $1 million acquisition. This would keep them safe even if Cespedes abandons his contract late this year. However, Alderson clarified that Bruce’s trade had nothing to do with the assigned departure of Cespedes.
The Mets did not include Bruce on their no-trade list, which has the Blue Jays, Diamondbacks, Marlins, Oakland Athletics, Twins, Rays, Red Sox, and Yankees.
The Mets hunted for Bruce because, in the majors, they rank last (.206) in batting average with runners in scoring position. Jacob deGrom and Noah Syndergaard are among the best pitchers in the MLB; however, in runs, the Mets rank 13th in the National League, scored with 381. They were at the same position in 2015 before acquiring Cespedes, who propelled them to the World Series.
Bruce’s arrival has crippled the center field because other players in the lineup cannot handle that position. Head Coach Terry Collins cannot wait for Cespedes to resume, but for now, he must play Curtis Granderson and Michael Conforto against right-handed pitchers. In late July, Bruce homered in a career-best of five consecutive matches. His shortcoming is so terrible luck usually follows him immediately he makes a hot streak.
The Red have been rebuilding their team for two years now by trading any of their potentially expensive veterans. In the last one year, Cincinnati has traded starters Mike Leake and Johnny Cueto and Mike Leake, Aroldis Chapman, and Todd Frazier, the All-Star Home Run Derby winner. Their attempt to trade Brandon Phillips to the Nationals backfired after the player rejected the contract. During the offseason, a three-team deal framework would have sent Bruce to Toronto, but this also failed.
In January, the Mets signed Bastardo for two-year, $12m deal, but he has struggled this season. Even though Niese will receive $9 this season, he could be bought out because Collins plans to apply his skills for a rotation safety net if Zack Wheeler does not pull through from rehab as expected. He will begin his rehab schedule on Saturday.
