The Reds would be amenable to a deal with the Mets for outfielder Jay Bruce if the return was fronted by righty Zack Wheeler, Buster Olney of ESPN.com reports on Twitter. We heard yesterday that Cincinnati has shown previous interest in the still-recovering recent Tommy John patient (via Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com).
Of course, it’s not clear whether other pieces would need to be involved from either team’s end to make a deal happen. And the Mets’ level of interest in Bruce is not known. The team is said to have preferred a slugging outfielder capable of playing center, where Bruce has not lined up since his rookie year.
But we do know that Wheeler had been ticketed to become the key piece of a deal to add Carlos Gomez, before that deal derailed, so it does stand to reason that New York would consider including him to grab Bruce. While he lacks Gomez’s five-tool superstar upside, and isn’t a stellar on-base threat, Bruce is actually a fairly well-rounded player himself. Since suffering through a rough 2014, he’s back on pace for a 4+ WAR season with big power numbers, decent speed, and sturdy defense.
Then whats the hold up? Mets have 4 pitchers that are better, and Niese is almost just as good.
Of course they would: Wheeler+ for Bruce is an overpay.
No it’s not. Jay Bruce is the 10th best RF. Zack Wheeler being dealt now for Bruce while he’s going under TJ would be a miracle for the Mets.
The Mets won’t do this. They already have 2 corner outfielders that they’re paying next year in Grandy and Cadaver. They’re paying Lagares too in center and that’s the reason they backed out of the Gomez deal, Brewers wouldn’t take back Lagares.
didn’t mean to reply here
It’s an overpay but if Cincy eats a large amount of Bruce’s salary (aka the only way the Mets can afford the deal) maybe not so much.
Cool, then keep Wheeler and watch other teams in the playoffs.
That deal better include Nimmo and Flores, too.
What do the Reds need Flores for? BP isn’t waiving his no-trade clause and they already have two shortstops for next season.
Most Reds fans don’t expect Cozart to keep up the offensive production he had this season before getting injured. His value is in his defense, and the knee injury puts that at risk. Don’t forget, this guy was one of the worst players in the entire league last year. I don’t believe his actual value is close to that, but he’s proven his floor is that low, and that’s before the major injury. And BP may not be going anywhere, but you can’t guarantee a job to a 35-year old, frequently injured player whose OPS+ is dropping 5-10% per year and now stands in the low 80’s. I love my Reds, but our middle infield is a year or two away from needing to be completely replaced, yet middle infield is the weakest position in our farm system. I don’t think Jocketty is in any position to turn away any young middle infielders.
tl;dr – Cincinnati’s middle infield is certainly not a strength.
You most definitely guarantee a spot to BP – the Reds are small market – they don’t sit players because they aren’t hitting. Suarez is the starting SS from here on out if/when Cozart is traded.
He should absolutely pick someone other than a middle infielder (at least one who is mlb ready).
I get what you’re saying, but you can’t operate without looking beyond 2015. Cozart’s and Phillips’s time is limited. Potentially extremely limited. And all we have is Suarez and… maybe Blandino? who’s in A-ball? One window is shutting, and we don’t have a Plan B for it beyond Suarez. What do we do when we find ourselves in 2016 with a bad middle infield, and then in 2017 with a league-worst middle infield?
We have OF depth in the farm system. We have pitching. We do NOT have infield depth.
meant to say “without looking past 2016” *
I heard Bruce has a bad hip.
lmao, good one….
Wonder if Wheeler and Wilmer Flores could get this done…
Probably not, since Bruce broke his finger when he was six.
I’m sure they would trade him for Mike Trout as well but it takes two to make a trade
Wilmer, Nimmo and Wheeler would net much more than Bruce lol
Are the Mets ready to take on that kind of contract? 12.5 next year and a 13 MIL option for 2017. Between him, Granny, and Cuddy they’d have over $40 mil tied up in their OF.
Exactly, and none of them ca play center.
Gomez, his “bad hip” at $8M this year and $9M next, looks a downright bargain comparatively.
Except gomez isnt the same caliber player bruce is.
Yeah, he’s better.
I have no idea what you’re looking at but it looks pretty close to me.
I think Matz for Bruce is a deal
Mets already said they arent dealing for the big 4.
Any of the above trade proposals would make me jump off a bridge as a Mets fan.
^ Matz for Bruce? That’s way worse than Wheeler for Bruce. Besides, Matz is on the untouchables list.
Would way rather have bruce then gomezatleast
1 to 1 comparison, yes, but I’d rather have Conforto/Gomez/Grandy than Bruce/Lagares/Grandy.
Grandy would play cf flanked by bruce and conforto
I’d take a date with Emily Ratajkowksi too, doesn’t mean she wants to give me a date with her.
Wheeler for bruce is a good deal.. Better then yesterdays news.
People are underrating Bruce. He might not hit for average but he’s gonna give you 25 and 85 at least with decent defense. Only 28 and only paid $12.5m next year and $13m the year after.
Wheeler and Flores for Bruce would be fine by me.
Jocketty should be spending more time trying to move Byrd and Leake rather than Bruce at this point.
I wouldn’t think Leake will be an issue, there seems to be plenty of interest and should get done by tomorrow, Bruce and Byrd were the harder sells since the OF market was a little more flooded.
Leake’s market has become stymied due to so many teams already acquiring starters (he’s owed approximately 4M$) – it shouldn’t be hard at all to deal a bat right now —> still a seller’s market when it comes to offense.
I know. Is he even trying?
Mets trading away Wheeler is a dumb move IMO. You can get quality bats a dime a dozen, but getting quality pitchers aren’t the same.
Quality bats are a dime a dozen?
In what world.
His Yahoo Fantasy 10 Team League, of course. Duh.
Getting quality anything is hard too do, let alone when one of your best chips is out with surgery.
Yeah, we’re in the age of the pitcher, but bats are easy to find.
Last year (I only say last year since this year isn’t complete), Bruce’s OPS would’ve been 27th in all of baseball. His wRC+ would’ve put him among the 40 best hitters in baseball. Either you’re definition of “quality bats” is different than the vast majority of the league, or you’re way undervaluing Bruce and the value of a very talented hitter.
Bruce has been so much better then Gomez this season. Actually since middle of May he has been on fire.. I don’t think Flores is that great and Wheeler coming off huge injury. If I’m Reds I keep Bruce , Frazier and Votto together.
In what world is Jay Bruce a better get than Gomez??? Gomez is far cheaper, plays the premium position with elite defense, has much better speed, and has hit better over the past 4 years.
Bruce (12-15): .247/.319/.464 112 OPS+ 99 hr, 34 SB/14 CS — 7.9 fWAR
Gomez (12-15): .275/.335/.474 118 OPS+ 74 hr, 118 SB/31 CS — 17.9 fWAR
Have fun with Bruce however – could have had Gomez for pennies.
2014 should not even be counted for Bruce when looking at his production. The team option and health makes Bruce worth more IMHO.
Pennies is 9mil, far cheaper then 12mil… Got it
And i like how tou tacked on gomez last 2 years to over shadow this years stats, but no years prior to that since bruces career dominates gomez.
Well Bruce has had one really, really bad season in there so it drastically skews his numbers. And just for the record, with Gomez’s health issues (if not the hip, then the hamstring) he isn’t running much anymore. He has one more steal than Bruce, in two more attempts.
I preferred Gomez, because when he’s right he’s an absolutely dynamic player, but don’t discount Bruce because of one bad season. Bruce has produced more over the course of his career, and if you wanna post “relevant” stats, do them for this season:
Bruce: .257/.341/.486 125 OPS+ 17 HR, 6 SB/5 CS – 3 UZR/150 2 WAR
Gomez: .262/.328/.423 107 OPS+ 8 HR, 7 SB/6 CS – 4 UZR/150 1.7 WAR
Added overall WAR and couldn’t find fWAR so just used UZR/150, but regardless of what you think of that substitution, Bruce hasn’t been worse than Gomez this year. I still think injuries are sapping some of CarGo’s talent this year and like I said, I’d rather have him than Bruce, but it’s not like Bruce is an awful player. He’s a very solid player in his own right.
So Gomez in an injury riddled, down season is only marginally worse than Bruce. Meanwhile, recent history (aka the previous two years) shows that Gomez is light years above Bruce when it comes to recent production.
Numbers can be skewed to fit arguments, but for crying out loud: we have one guy who is discounting Bruce’s 2014 season, another is trying to ignore Gomez’s previous two years while trying to include his seasons as a backup and slap and run hitter, and you’re trying to restrict analysis to just this year.
I recognize both guys value, but Gomez is a much safer bet as a player with his overall skill set. Bruce is a streaky slugger who can carry a team for a couple weeks – a lot like Corey Hart, but also has that real potential to be awful for long periods of time.
“Numbers can be skewed to fit arguments” goes both ways, man. Bruce hasn’t been all that much worse in the last few years, at least in terms of hitting, and that’s even including the awful anomaly that was last year. This year, the fortunes of each player have changed, and Bruce has been a far superior hitter and is better, albeit only slightly, overall. Health accounts for something, and Bruce has almost always had very good health, while there seem to be some questions about Gomez’s. There have even been some questions about Gomez’s play in general; his defense has been in steady decline the last few years and his baserunning (or stealing at the very least) has gotten worse as well, culminating in an awful 7 SB:6 CS ratio.
Again, I prefer Gomez, warts and all. He would’ve really helped the Mets offensively and like you’ve stated, plays a premium position well. I’ve maintained that he was the only OF bat I’d give up something huge for, and even with that opinion, he has his fair share of risks to gamble on.
Let me understand this. Our top two pitchers next year would both be coming off of tommy john surgery. Our all star closer will probably be traded in the off season. Our center fielder can run but can’t hit and our all star third baseman will be out of our price range within 2 years. The bullpen is one of the worst in baseball. I’d much rather see the Reds add to their hitting instead of dumping a 20 plus home run hitter since the pitching era will skyrocket in the next few years
Bruce has been better this season
Perfect for both teams
Hanley Ramirez, 4K for each year remaining on Hanley’s contract & Daniel Nava
For
Zach Wheeler
LOL you a Sox fan? Because that’s an awful trade. Where does Hanley even play?
If you want to get rid of Hanley, it’s going to have to be strictly as a salary dump with nothing remotely of value coming back in return. I think Wheeler’s a bit overrated, but he’s still way too much.
Losing the Gomez trade was just another Alderson blunder
Yup, just another Alderson blunder.
Like trading Dickey, Thole and Nickeas for Thor, d’Arnaud, Buck and Becerra.
Like trading a half season of Beltran for Wheeler
Like trading Ike Davis in favor of Duda (which was very unpopular at the time)
Like trading a month of Byrd and Buck for Herrera and Black
I don’t agree with every move he’s made, no GM is perfect, but losing Gomez isn’t his fault regardless – it’s on the Wilpon’s if money was really the issue.
The trade would be dumb to take for the Mets. Then again front office makes moronic decisions so welcome to the Mets Jay Bruce.
Unreal if we give up Wheeler for Bruce. Got to love the Niese is almost just as good what games you watch?
Mets fans, your in a privileged position. You have a starter that is nothing but a question mark right now in Wheeler. You have six other good starters. Take the deal for Bruce who has another year and a team option. If he produces, trade him in the off season. Bruce is better than what you have now.
He’s got a nice top 5 outfield arm, can cover alot of ground, and he has played CF for about 300 innings and played it well. Really well. He had a bad year in 2014 with a bad knee, but will hit 30HR this year which is what he typically does.
You can use about 15 to 20 more HR can’t ya?
Reds need bats. Not another pitcher. Pass please Jocketty.