New York Mets: What Jay Bruce Means for the Outfield

With the acquisition of Jay Bruce on Monday afternoon, the New York Mets now have plenty of options in the outfield. Manager Terry Collins will have to decide who starts where and how often they play.

New York Mets general manager Sandy Alderson was certainly busy on Monday. As the 4 p.m. non-waiver trade deadline approached, he was occupied with trying to get a deal done with the Cincinnati Reds to bring Jay Bruce to New York.

After some complications, the two teams finally agreed on a trade. The Reds sent Bruce to the Mets in exchange for second base prospect Dilson Herrera and 19-year old left-handed pitcher Max Wotell. Bruce will join a Mets’ outfield that is suddenly getting a little overcrowded.

Bruce’s left-handed power will definitely be a welcomed addition to a struggling Mets’ lineup. This season, he’s hitting .265 with 25 home runs and an NL-leading 80 RBIs. There’s no doubt that manager Terry Collins will want to pencil him into the lineup every day. The only time that Collins might want to sit Bruce is when the Mets face a lefty on the mound.

Bruce will primarily play right field, which means Curtis Granderson will have to move to another outfield position. He’s started all but one game in right field; he played center field in that lone start. Going forward, that’s probably where Collins will have to play him.

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Earlier in his career, Granderson was primarily a center fielder. He certainly doesn’t have the same range in the outfield that he used to, but he’s still serviceable at the position. How effective he’ll play at the position remains to be seen.

This leaves left field up for discussion. Because he’s been battling a quad injury lately, Yoenis Cespedes hasn’t been playing center field. It’s unlikely that he plays there for the remainder of 2016. Right now, Cespedes’ health is a major concern for the Mets. A stint on the disabled list is still a real possibility.

For a good portion of last year and during the team’s playoff run, Michael Conforto occupied left field. He had a very good start to the 2016 season but fell into a major slump, which caused the Mets to demote him to Triple-A. They recalled him on July18. Since being re-promoted, Conforto hasn’t really played much better.

In the event Cespedes needs to spend time on the disabled list, Conforto will probably get a chance to play left field almost every day. Collins could play Conforto in center field and Granderson in left.

What about Alejandro De Aza, Brandon Nimmo, and newly signed Justin Ruggiano? 

Nimmo and De Aza are both left-handed hitters who can basically play any outfield position. If Cespedes goes on the disabled list and Conforto continues to struggle, Nimmo could see more playing time.

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Ruggiano is a righty. He can also play any of the three positions in the outfield. Right now, Ruggiano’s status is unclear, as he suffered an injury in the first game of this week’s Subway Series. If he doesn’t have to miss significant time, he’ll get playing time in center field when the Mets face lefties—this was Juan Lagares‘ main role until he went down with a thumb injury last week. He’s going to be sidelined for at least six weeks.

Bruce is a solid addition to the Mets lineup. However, his presence in right field puts the rest of the outfield in an odd position. Collins will definitely have his hands full in the coming weeks with lineup tweaks and permutations.