The New York Mets traded for Cincinnati Reds traded outfielder Jay Bruce on Monday in exchange for Dilson Herrera and Max Wotell, the team announced.
Jon Heyman of Today’s Knuckleball first reported the deal.
“The only thing to do now is go play baseball,” Bruce told Ken Rosenthal of Fox Sports. “I’m a baseball player, and that’s what I’m going to do.”
Bruce enjoyed a slight uptick in production last year after a lackluster 2014 season that saw him post a career-low .281 on-base percentage in 137 games. In 2015, he lowered his strikeout rate, increased his walk rate and hit 26 home runs, right in line with his career average.
The veteran outfielder previously found himself on the trade block leading up to the deadline last July. He didn’t end up getting moved at the time and said afterward that a trade would have felt weird, as John Fay of the Cincinnati Enquirer noted.
“It’s nice that other teams are interested in you,” Bruce said. “But on the other hand, you grow up in this organization. This is all I know. This is like family to me.”
This move is a bit atypical from Cincinnati’s perspective. Rarely do you see a 29-year-old player in the middle of his prime with a trio of 30-homer seasons on his resume get traded. That’s especially true when he’s under team control for another season, as is the case here, per Spotrac.
Those circumstances suggest the Reds are trying to maximize the return with Bruce enjoying a much improved 2016 campaign.
The trade is a reasonable investment considering his power-hitting history, age and contract situation. It’s not like the Mets are acquiring a high-risk, high-reward player on a rental basis and giving up an elite prospect to do it. This is a stable move, and Bruce will give the Mets another power hitter in the middle of the lineup.
With the move for Bruce, it’s clear the Mets are going all-in to make a deep postseason run.
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