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New York Mets: Jay Bruce’s Struggles Do Not Change Future Plans

By Nikhil Potpally

Sep 5, 2016; Cincinnati, OH, USA; New York Mets right fielder Jay Bruce prepares on deck against the Cincinnati Reds during the first inning at Great American Ball Park. Mandatory Credit: David Kohl-USA TODAY Sports
Sep 5, 2016; Cincinnati, OH, USA; New York Mets right fielder Jay Bruce prepares on deck against the Cincinnati Reds during the first inning at Great American Ball Park. Mandatory Credit: David Kohl-USA TODAY Sports /
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Jay Bruce continues to struggle with the New York Mets and has not given the team a reason to let Yoenis Cespedes walk. Bruce may have hit rock bottom on Tuesday, when he was pinch-hit for by Eric Campbell. 

When watching a New York Mets game, there are two players who you can currently pencil in as automatic outs; Travis D’Arnaud and Jay Bruce. Surprisingly, Bruce was a top offensive player before he came to the Mets. Recently, he has brought back memories of Jason Bay. The trade deadline deal to bring in a power bat under team control for two years has backfired and does not change what must be done this offseason: re-sign Yoenis Cespedes.

In reality, Bruce was originally brought in to be a replacement for Cespedes this coming offseason. When the Mets traded Dilson Herrera (the prospect they valued so highly as the replacement to Daniel Murphy), this assumption was verified.

Cespedes will undoubtedly opt-out of his three-year contract and will be looking for a bigger deal on the open market. The Mets want to keep him but were probably not going to match the types of lucrative offers he’d receive in free agency.

By trading for Bruce, the team thought it was acquiring a similar bat at a reasonable price for 2017 ($13 million team option), and would offset Cespedes signing with another team. However, GM Sandy Alderson cannot count on Bruce to replace Cespedes’s production next year and must match any contract Yoenis receives this winter.

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From the outside, Bruce and Cespedes were having similar 2016 seasons. Cespedes is batting .284/.354/.543 with 30 home runs and 81 RBI. In 97 games with the Reds, Bruce was batting .265/.316/.559 with 25 home runs and 80 RBI. Close enough, right?

However, in 40 games with the Mets, Bruce is batting .176/.255/.289 with four home runs and 11 RBI. In comparison, Cardinals’ pitcher Adam Wainwright is batting .224/.250/.483 with two home runs and 18 RBI. Wainwright has more extra-base hits (10) and RBI (18) than Bruce (eight and 11, respectively) in 92 fewer plate appearances.

If Alderson thought Bruce would continue his pre-deadline progress with the Mets, he was proven wrong. Fans can keep hoping that Bruce will someday break out of his slump, but they will be disappointed. When combined with his below-average defense in right field, there is no reason for him to stay in the lineup every day.

Stubborn fans will argue that Bruce will break out of this monster slump soon, citing his track record. On the other hand, the team cannot afford to be super patient in the middle of a playoff race. As it stands, I have more faith in Alejandro De Aza or Wainwright to get a hit than I do in Jay Bruce.

Only a few players perform well once thrust into the bright lights of New York, and Bruce is clearly not one of them. He was unable to elevate his game like Cespedes did last year, let alone perform at an average level in New York.

His struggles make what Cespedes did in 2015 that much more remarkable. Cespedes carried the team on his back through August, hitting 17 home runs and driving in 44 runs in 57 games. Bruce was brought in to eventually replace Cespedes, but his performance is merely a fraction of what Cespedes has done in New York.

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Alderson cannot afford to be cheap with Yoenis Cespedes this offseason. The acquisition of Bruce does not change priorities when Cespedes opts out; the Mets must re-sign Cespedes at all costs. The Mets can always trade Bruce to another team this winter and receive something in return. By letting Cespedes walk, the Mets will get nothing back other than a sandwich-round pick and an angry fanbase.

The choice is clear: keep Yoenis, trade Bruce. If the Mets do otherwise, fans should seriously be concerned about the front office’s plans for the future of the team.

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