Jay Bruce has officially cleared waivers. So if the New York Mets want to deal their veteran slugger before August 31st, they can do any team now.
It’s clear that the Mets are in selling mode for the 2017 season since they dealt away Lucas Duda and Addison Reed in separate trades last month. However, the Mets might not be done dealing players yet, as this past week, both Curtis Granderson and Jay Bruce cleared waivers.
With both of them clearing waivers, the Mets can now trade them to any team in baseball. Both are set to become free agents and it’s likely that the Mets will lose both to free agency. Now, the Mets could just let them go and be done with them once the season ends.
Or the Mets could try to make a trade for them and get something for them, even if it’s a minimal return.
So who could use Jay Bruce for the final two-plus months of the season? The New York Yankees could.
Yes, we know the Yankees and Mets don’t like to make trades with one another that help the other team out. But they have made deals in the past, one of which was less than two years ago.
Now, granted. Jay Bruce plays the outfield. But he can also play two other positions; first base and designated hitter. That’s where the value for the Yankees comes into play. He’s played 11 games this season at first and just two at DH.
Since the All Star break, Matt Holliday has been terrible for the Yankees. In July, he hit .130 with one home run and four RBI. In early August, he’s hitting .167 with no homers and RBI. That has dropped him down to .229 on the season and he looks lost at the plate.
Holliday hasn’t been the same since he went on the disabled list earlier in the season and it’s not clear if he’s ever recovered from it. Having him in the lineup seems to be a detriment since he’s almost an automatic out these days.
By trading for Jay Bruce, the Yankees can get someone in there who can add some power and pop to a lineup that terribly needs it. In 101 games, Bruce is hitting .260 with 29 home runs and 75 RBI.
The Yankees do have Chase Headley playing first currently, and he’s given a solid effort. Headley deserves to stay in the lineup since he hit .333 in the month of July and got his average back to respectability (.264 heading into Saturday.) But with that said, Jay Bruce has a little more experience playing first base than Headley does.
But the glove isn’t why the Yankees would want Jay Bruce. It would be for his bat. And given the Yankees recent struggles at the plate, having another bat in the lineup like his can’t hurt.
If the Mets are smart and realize that they should try to get something for their pending free agent slugger, they should try to make a deal with the Yankees to send Jay Bruce there for the remainder of the season.