Mets Bring Back Jay Bruce on 3-year Deal

As seen on Mets Amazing Clubhouse ...

Two stunning developments happened late Tuesday night. 1) The Mets signed someone to contract. 2) Jay Bruce is actually returning to the Mets. Talk about surprises.

The Mets ended their long hibernation this off-season by coming to terms on a three-year $39 million deal with Bruce, who returns to the Mets after finishing off the 2017 season with the Cleveland Indians.

According to various reports, Bruce will receive $10 million this season and $14.5 million in each of the final two years of the deal. He will also have a no-trade clause to five unspecified teams.

The reunion between Bruce and the Mets is surprising.  Considering he gave the Indians plenty of pop in the middle of their lineup during the final part of the season and in the playoffs, the guess would have been that Bruce would either return to Cleveland, or find a home elsewhere like San Francisco, where they recently acquired Evan Longoria to boost their lineup. 

The Mets are not viewed as a contender, and by cutting costs this off-season they have given off the impression they are going through another rebuilding process. Why would a 30-year old outfielder want to go back there?

The answer lies in the free agent market right now in Major League Baseball.  Nobody is biting on free agents right now. Players like Eric Hosmer, Jake Arrieta and Yu Darvish are still on the market.

Perhaps Bruce and his agent felt the market for his services was not that great? Maybe the Giants were not offering him the kind of deal he was looking for? Clearly his familiarity with New York, the Mets clubhouse and Mickey Calloway played a role in this.

Adding Bruce is certainly a plus from the production standpoint. Before the trade to Cleveland, Bruce led the Mets with 29 home runs and 75 RBI in 103 games.

The .254 batting average Bruce had in 2017 was his best output since the 2013 season when he batted .262 for the Reds.

The Mets Win Above Replacement was 2.9 with Bruce in the lineup; only Michael Conforto had a higher WAR of 3.6.

With so much uncertainty in the Mets lineup regarding the health of Conforto and Yeonis Cespedes, the Mets needed a power bat and they got it.

The concerns are where does Bruce play? The Mets could play him at first base, but that would mean Dominic Smith is either a bust, or is getting platooned, which is never a good sign for a young player.

In the outfield, the Mets don’t have a true center fielder. Juan Lageras has been either injured or below average. Brandon Nimmo? Let’s not go there. Center field is an abyss in Metsland.

If everyone is healthy, Bruce will play right field; Cespedes will man left field and Conforto will play center field.

Conforto played 43 games in center field last season, but there has always been a desire to see him play a corner outfield position.  That is now complicated by the fact that Bruce is strictly a right fielder, and Cespedes prefers to play left. When Conforto returns from the disabled list later this year the assumption is Mets fans will see a lot of platooning in the outfield the way they did last season under Terry Collins.

Are the Mets better today? Yes. However, Mets fans shouldn’t be diluted into believing that the Wilpon’s are now willing to be more aggressive on the open market.