Headlines

Go To Pro Hockey Rumors
Go To Hoops Rumors

Jay Bruce

Details On Jay Bruce’s No-Trade List

By | at

Mets outfielder Jay Bruce has come up as a potential salary-swap candidate in a variety of hypothetical trade scenarios. Whether or not he’s a realistic trade piece remains to be seen, but his limited no-trade rights could play into the situation.

Joel Sherman of the New York Post provides an updated list, via Twitter, of the slate of teams that Bruce cannot be dealt to without permission. For the present season, Bruce can block deals to the Tigers, Marlins, Athletics, Rays, and Blue Jays. He had previously listed the Orioles and Mariners in place of the Detroit and Miami organizations, but now Bruce can be dealt to Baltimore or Seattle without his permission.

Needless to say, it does not seem terribly likely that Bruce’s blocking rights will impact his potential market. While the A’s and Rays do feature as contending organizations, neither figures to prioritize offloading existing salary — or to seek out Bruce’s rights in a deal. That said, it’s not entirely impossible to cook up scenarios involving the other three teams on Bruce’s list, so their inclusion would add a significant complication to any (purely theoretical) trade talks.

Bruce has had some ups and downs throughout his career, and he’s now coming off of a dry spell at 31 years of age. Last year, he slashed just .223/.310/.370 with nine home runs in 361 plate appearances. He has been much better in the past, of course, and carries a lifetime .247/.318/.466 output at the plate.

Hip issues limited Bruce’s availability in 2018 and could help explain the difficulties, though with $26MM left to go for the next two seasons his contract is not an appealing one. It’s certainly still possible that the Mets could move him in a deal involving one or more other highly paid players. Those interested in contemplating the possibilities may be interested in checking out our recent listing of some of the many potential contract-swap candidates around the game.

NL East Notes: Braves, Bruce, Mets, Phillies

By | at

Last night, the Braves became the first NL team to clinch a 2018 division title. Braves fans interested in a look back on the season and some of the biggest contributing factors to the club’s surprising season might consider giving this piece by Mark Bowman of MLB.com a read. Atlanta officially eliminated the division-rival Phillies from the NL East race with its best starter, Mike Foltynewicz, on the mound; Bowman describes Folty as the Braves’ “most significant acquisition made within the first year of the rebuild”. “It was very different knowing what’s at stake, but at the same time you can’t get overhyped, like I tended to do in the past with bigger games,” Foltynewicz said of his performance. “To be able to do it in front of our home crowd was pretty special.” The soon-to-be 27-year-old right-hander was acquired as part of the January 2015 trade that sent Evan Gattis to the Astros. The resume of his breakout season includes 178 innings of 2.88 ERA ball, 193 punchouts and a 1.11 WHIP.

While the Braves prepare for the playoffs, here are a few notes regarding the NL East teams looking towards 2019…

  • A poor start to the 2018 season for Mets free agent signee Jay Bruce manifested itself in a .212/.292/.321 batting line with just three home runs through the middle of June. But since coming off the disabled list on August 24th, he’s looked a lot more like his old self. As Tim Britton notes in a piece for The Athletic, Bruce is hitting .256/.347/.523 with six blasts in 98 plate appearances, which more closely resembles the 2017 season that he considers the best of his career. Britton believes that Bruce will be an integral part of the 2019 Mets plans, whether as their everyday first baseman or right fielder, but suggests that the Bruce signing ought to be a “learning experience” for the organization. That’s because one of the risks of signing players in their 30’s is that even those with largely healthy track records, like Bruce and teammate Todd Frazier, come with increased injury risk.
  • Bruce’s late-season performance extending into 2019 is one thing the Mets will be counting on if they hope to contend next season; Joel Sherman of the New York Post breaks down a laundry list of other things that need to go right for the club in order for to support those hopes. In fact, Sherman believes that the Amazins don’t necessarily need to rebuild, and have a shot to contend again right away if they play their cards right. He posits that the Mets should be willing to listen to trade offers on their starters, but also lists a host of potential free agent targets that could shore up the roster. That list includes lefty reliever Zach Britton, versatile infielder Eduardo Escobar, and catcher Wilson Ramos.
  • Have quick hooks in late-season games by rookie Phillies skipper Gabe Kapler cost Nick Pivetta and Vince Velasquez valuable development opportunities? That’s a question Matt Gelb attempts to answer in an article for The Athletic. Pivetta, for instance, faced just 20 batters in his Friday start, and has faced an average of just 21 batters in each of his 10 starts since August 1st. “You know, the way that the game has been going and the way that Gabe has been coaching, at the end of the day the most I can do is just go as long as I can,” Pivetta said. “It’s up to him when he takes us out.” Velasquez has been yanked even sooner in many cases, including being plucked from his Thursday starts after just three innings during which he allowed three unearned runs. The quick hooks, Gelb opines, make it more difficult to judge Pivetta and Velasquez ahead of 2019, and cost them valuable experience that could come in handy down the road. Perhaps it’s worth noting that the Phillies’ bullpen allowed 10 runs combined in those two contests while taking the loss in each against the division-rival Braves.

Quick Hits: Mattingly, Bruce, Free Agent Market

By | at

Marlins manager Don Mattingly was the latest manager to complain about September roster expansion rules, stating that “the game you play for five months is not the game you play in September.” According to Mattingly, the roster expansion from 25 to 40 in the month of September changes the “fundamental nature of the game” by allowing clubs to use up to 40 players in a given contest as opposed to the 25 they’d be able to use from April to August.

Objectively, Mattingly’s accusation that the game is fundamentally different is hard to argue. With a hat tip to Jerry Crasnick of ESPN for the stats, the recent Saturday contest between the Marlins and Phillies was the first non-DH game since 1900 in which no pitcher recorded a plate appearance. It was also just the fourth game in MLB history in which no pitcher tallied more than six outs. Mattingly’s not the first manager to take issue with roster expansion; former Brewers GM Doug Melvin complained about the change as early as 2005.

Here are a pair of other notes from throughout baseball earlier today…

  • Mets hitter Jay Bruce apparently wants his “audition” with the Mets late this year to “mean something”, per a report from Mike Puma of the New York Post. Taken in context, it’s quite a turnaround to hear such words about a player who less than a year ago was signed to a three-year, $39MM deal in hopes that he’d be a difference-maker for the Amazins. But an unfortunate fall from grace this year has seen the once-proud slugger struggle to a .221/.300/.373 batting line with just 8 homers while bouncing between the outfield and first base in Queens. Bruce hopes his recent power surge since being activated from the disabled list has dispelled any notion that the Mets “goofed” by signing him. Furthermore, the fact that they’ve given him significant time at first base might hint that he could have a leg up on former top prospect Dominic Smith for the starting first base job in 2019.
  • Though many front offices began their free agency planning as early as August 1st, we’re just now entering the time period at which many players begin evaluating their foray into the market. Buster Olney of ESPN.com details the high-payday potential of a few names on the market who are less high-profile than the frequently-mentioned 2018-2019 headliners. That list includes outfielder Michael Brantley, left-handed starter Patrick Corbin, and recently-traded infielder Daniel Murphy. Olney’s subscription-only piece doesn’t list any surprises; they’re all players a reasonable baseball pundit might expect to earn significant dollars this offseason. But his piece offers an interesting preview of the list of players whose high stock is perhaps overshadowed by the likes of Bryce Harper, Manny Machado and Clayton Kershaw.

Mets Notes: Wright, Smith, International Signing

By | at

Seven-time All-Star David Wright has no quit in him. The 35-year-old has been rehabbing with the St. Lucie Mets since August 12th, and Marc Carig of The Athletic details his grueling push for a return to the majors against all odds. After undergoing three different surgeries in the past 26 months, Wright’s day involves painstaking attention to detail in his pre-game routine, and his overall rehabbing process has included broader-scale challenges up to and including completely relearning how to play catch. The Mets’ captain, however, has chosen to embark on this arduous journey back to the majors in part because (as Carig says) “even in the face of long odds, the fear of regret is a powerful motivator.” In Wright’s own words, “I guess it’s stubbornness on my part, wanting to give this another try and do this on my terms.” Carig’s piece is a length read that does an excellent job of providing insight into Wright’s struggles and perseverance.

Some other recent notes out of Queens…

  • The Mets are making a mistake by not giving Dominic Smith an extended audition, David Lennon of Newsday writes, suggesting that the club appears to be entering the “evaluation period of this lost season, to see who should stick in 2019 and beyond.” If that’s true, Lennon writes, then the club ought to be giving Smith more playing time to see if he can develop into an everyday first baseman. The “jerking around of Smith” in an effort to give Wilmer Flores reps at first and make him more versatile doesn’t compute with Lennon. After all, the kid isn’t too far removed from being the 11th-overall pick in the 2013 draft, and it’s far too early to consider him a failed prospect. Since Lennon wrote his piece, the Mets have gone so far as to option Smith to Triple-A in favor of giving veteran Jay Bruce reps first.
  • The newest member of the Mets organization is Dominican shortstop Willian Lugo, whom the club recently signed for $475K (h/t Jesse Sanchez of MLB.com). Notably, the club was able to bring on board in part due to the international bonus pool money they acquired as part of the trade that sent Jeurys Familia to the Athletics. Lugo did not rank among Baseball America’s list of the top 50 international prospects of the 2018-2019 signing period.

Mets Activate Jay Bruce, Option Dominic Smith

By | at

The Mets are planning to give veteran Jay Bruce a long look at first base over the final five weeks of the season, as Tim Healey of Newsday reports. Bruce was activated today from a long stay on the disabled list, with the club optioning former top first base prospect Dominic Smith as part of the day’s roster maneuvering.

It seems the idea is to assess what skipper Mickey Callaway called the “possibility” that Bruce could enter the 2019 campaign as a regular at first base. As the organization looks ahead to an offseason that will likely be overseen by a new general manager, no decisions have been made. Rather, Bruce will have an opportunity to show whether he looks to be a viable option at first and/or his customary corner outfield. Callaway says the veteran will appear in the infield “quite a bit moving forward.”

Of course, the Mets largely know what they have in Bruce, who was signed over the winter to a three-year, $39MM contract that includes consecutive $13MM salaries for the coming two campaigns. The 31-year-old has struggled to a .212/.292/.321 slash this year, though it’s probably reasonable to anticipate he’ll bounce back toward his typically above-average offensive levels. This is his 11th season in the majors, so there isn’t much mystery about his skillset with the bat (generally: good power and limited on-base ability).

Smith, though, is a former first-round pick who only just turned 23 years of age this summer. He carries only a .197/.251/.389 batting line in 263 MLB plate appearances over the past two seasons and also hasn’t hit much this year at Triple-A. But it wasn’t long ago that he was seen as a high-quality prospect; indeed, Smith earned his way into the majors in 2017 with a .330/.386/.519 performance in 500 plate appearances for Las Vegas last year.

Nevertheless, Smith is on his way back to Triple-A. While he’ll presumably re-join the MLB roster at some point in September, it seems he won’t receive a particularly close look in the final month of the season. Indeed, Callaway had some eye-opening comments on the youngster. “The deal here is you might not ever get a look,” he said. “That’s how it goes in the major leagues. Nothing is fair. It is what it is. But he has to keep on grinding and putting himself in a position where he can come up here and get at-bats.”

While it’s understandable that the organization may want Smith to force the issue somewhat, the decisionmaking process seems a mite curious, as David Lennon of Newsday suggested recently. True, another prospect — Peter Alonso — has likely now eclipsed Smith in the organization’s eyes. But Alonso is actually 190 days older than Smith. And as impressive as the 2016 second-rounder has been, the Mets surely would at a minimum prefer to boost Smith’s trade value if he’s going to end up making way for Bruce and/or Alonso in the near future.

NL East Notes: Bruce, Soroka, Marlins

By | at

The emergence of Brandon Nimmo has left Jay Bruce as something of an odd man out with the Mets, opines Joel Sherman of the New York Post. Sherman notes that the Mets’ outfield in 2019 and beyond is likely to include Nimmo, Michael Conforto and Yoenis Cespedes, making it more difficult for Bruce to secure regular at-bats (barring a move to first base, which would come at the expense of the younger Dominic Smith). According to Sherman, Bruce can block trades to the Orioles, Mariners, Blue Jays, Rays and Athletics, but he can be shipped anywhere else without his consent. Sherman runs through some speculative possibilities in which Bruce, who is owed $28MM from 2019-20, could be swapped out for a player earning at a comparable rate. Of course, it’s also worth noting that Nimmo’s bat has declined in each month of the season since a torrid start, while Cespedes and (to a lesser extent) Conforto come with injury question marks.

A few more notes out of the NL East…

  • David O’Brien of The Athletic tweets that Braves righty Mike Soroka still hasn’t begun a throwing program as he continues rehabbing his right shoulder, which makes it increasingly unlikely that he’ll pitch again in 2018. If that’s the case, O’Brien notes that the organization could have Soroka pitch in the instructional league this fall before shutting him down for the winter in hopes of a healthier 2019 campaign. Soroka, who turned 21 last week, was impressive despite his young age in five starts earlier this season before shoulder woes landed him on the disabled list.
  • Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald recently wrote that any of Derek Dietrich, Dan Straily or Starlin Castro could yet be trade candidates for the Marlins in the month of August. Castro didn’t draw any serious interest prior to the non-waiver deadline, Jackson notes, but the Cubs and Indians checked in on Dietrich while the Athletics chatted with the Marlins about a potential re-acquisition of Straily (though those talks came prior to Oakland’s trade for Mike Fiers). Jackson notes that the Fish would want quality prospects in return for Straily if they moved him, as he’s controlled beyond the 2018 season. That seems like a tough sell, given Straily’s diminished strikeout, chase and swinging-strike rates as well as his drastic increase in walk rate.

Jay Bruce Diagnosed With Hip Strain

By | at

Though the Mets tried to avoid it, they finally were forced to place outfielder Jay Bruce on the 10-day DL. It turns out that he was dealing with more than just soreness; Tim Britton of The Athletic was among those to tweet that imaging revealed a strain in Bruce’s right hip.

Skipper Mickey Callaway did not reveal much about the severity of the injury, though he said “there’s definitely something there.” It seems reasonable to anticipate that the Mets will now give Bruce whatever time he needs for things to clear up.

Notably, the veteran outfielder has not just been feeling pain in his hip. In fact, he has dealt with an ongoing bout of plantar fasciitis and also has had some lower back issues of late, as Anthony DiComo of MLB.com recently tweeted.

Bruce, 31, is among the players whose early performances have been less than encouraging for New York. Through 236 plate appearances, he carries a meager .212/.292/.321 batting line.

At this stage of the season, given how things have gone for the Mets, the injury itself is probably less concerning than Bruce’s overall struggles. Perhaps the multiple maladies have contributed to his woes at the plate, though, in which case this respite may offer a much-needed reset.

Bruce’s three-year, $39MM contract has only just begun, so he never seemed to be a likely mid-season trade candidate. If he can turn things around in the second half, though, it’ll certainly improve the team’s future roster flexibility. In the meantime, Bruce’s absence will also allow the Mets to give some extra opportunities to youngster Dominic Smith, who’s hoping to show more in his second attempt at the majors.

Mets Notes: deGrom, Syndergaard, Wheeler, Familia, Bruce

By | at

Having experienced a precipitous fall after an 11-1 start to the season, the Mets are reportedly willing to listen to offers on the majority of their roster. While the Mets are said to have a preference to retain their controllable players, Kristie Ackert of the New York Daily News argues that the team would be foolish not to listen to offers on aces Jacob deGrom and Noah Syndergaard. Ackert cites a source with another NL club in agreeing with yesterday’s report from Ken Rosenthal that the Mets are more willing to discuss trading Syndergaard than deGrom, despite the fact that Syndergaard comes with an extra year of club control. There’s a divide in the Mets’ front office about whether to even entertain offers, per Ackert, who adds that there’s nothing serious in the works at this time despite a number of teams checking in on both pitchers. The Yankees, she adds, have yet to make an inquiry.

More out of Queens…

  • Mike Puma of the New York Post writes that some in the industry believe the Mets are making deGrom and Syndergaard available without the intent of actually trading either and could instead then push alternatives like Zack Wheeler on the teams that inquire about deGrom and Syndergaard. Wheeler is only controllable through 2019, has a longer injury history and doesn’t have great overall results on the season, of course, but he’s been quite a bit better over the past month (3.68 ERA, 3.01 FIP, 34-to-11 K/BB ratio in 36 2/3 innings). In addition to Wheeler, Puma adds that both Asdrubal Cabrera and Jeurys Familia are likely to be marketed in trades in the coming weeks.
  • Following yesterday’s trade of Kelvin Herrera from the Royals to the Nationals, Tim Britton of The Athletic examines what type of impact the swap could have on the Mets’ efforts to deal Familia (subscription required). Familia and Herrera are both 28 years of age, both free agents at season’s end, and are both earning just north of $7.9MM. The two are also rather comparable from a statistical standpoint — at least on a career basis. As Britton notes, the early nature of Herrera’s trade will remove an alternative for bullpen-needy teams to pursue if and when the Mets shop Familia, which could help the Mets to create more demand and further drive up the bidding. Noting that the Royals’ return was somewhat lessened by the fact that the Nats took on all of Herrera’s remaining salary, Britton opines that the Mets should be willing to pay the remainder of Familia’s salary to enhance the deal, adding that the club should aim to procure one high-end talent rather than several lower-tier players (as they did when acquiring three bullpen prospects from the Red Sox in last July’s Addison Reed swap).
  • The Mets announced this afternoon that they’ve placed Jay Bruce on the 10-day disabled list due to a sore right hip, recalling right-hander Tim Peterson from Triple-A Las Vegas in his place. Bruce’s trip to the DL is retroactive to Monday. That injury leaves the Mets without a true backup outfielder on the roster. Brandon Nimmo, Michael Conforto and Jose Bautista are the most experienced outfielders on the roster, but it seems Dominic Smith will be logging time in the outfield as well; he’s starting in left field tonight, the team announced. MLB.com’s Anthony DiComo tweeted earlier that Wilmer Flores may also see some time in the outfield in the near future.

Mets Notes: Cespedes, Astros, Bruce

By | at

The latest out of Citi Field…

  • The Mets faced a tough challenge from the Astros in the race to sign Yoenis Cespedes in the 2016-17 offseason, John Harper of the New York Daily News reports.  The Astros reportedly made Cespedes a similarly-sized offer (four years, $110MM) that the outfielder was “strongly considering,” according to one Mets source.  Another Mets-connected person tells Harper that Cespedes’ “considerations were [to play for a] contender, money, no-trade clause, and [to] train in Florida near his ranch,” and Houston checked off all of those boxes but was unwilling to provide full no-trade protection.  Mets GM Sandy Alderson was also wary about the no-trade clause, yet ultimately agreed to add it to the deal in order to get Cespedes back in the fold.  That “separator” in talks, as another Mets source described it, may have also been necessary to retain Cespedes given his issues with former manager Terry Collins, which Harper relates at length.  It’s safe to assume that the Astros don’t harbor much regret about missing on Cespedes, as they instead spread out their money to acquire multiple players (Josh Reddick, Brian McCann, Carlos Beltran) that helped them win the World Series, while Cespedes has been hampered by injuries since re-signing with New York.
  • Earlier this week, Joel Sherman of the New York Post floated a hypothetical trade of struggling players, with the Mets sending Jay Bruce to the Rockies in exchange for Bryan Shaw.  There isn’t any indication that either team is considering such a deal, and a trade of either player would be pretty surprising since both Bruce and Shaw just signed three-year free agent contracts last winter.  Sherman’s argument, however, is that this trade would solve some problems on both rosters — Colorado would get a veteran bat who could help in the corner outfield or at first base, while the Mets would add a long-term relief piece and clear up some of their own cluttered first base/corner outfield situation.  Shaw could also be helped by a reunion with Mickey Callaway, his former pitching coach in Cleveland.
  • Speaking of Bruce, the veteran hasn’t played in the last three games due to some lingering injuries in his back, hip, and foot.  Newsday’s Tim Healey writes that Bruce had two days fully off before being available off the bench on Saturday, though he wasn’t used.  These minor injuries aside, Bruce said that he has felt healthy this season, which makes his mediocre numbers (.216/.297/.327 with three homers in 232 PA) all the more frustrating.  “I feel so close. I hit balls at people. Fly out, just miss the ball. Stuff you really can’t control,” Bruce said.  Advanced metrics partially bear out Bruce’s assessment — he only has a .263 BABIP, and his .344 xwOBA is far beyond his actual .275 wOBA.  His 32.7% hard-hit ball rate, however, is below his career average and his .111 Isolated Power (ISO) total is by far the lowest of his career.

NL Notes: Bruce, Kang, Stratton, Panik, Gohara, Pennington

By | at

Mets outfielder Jay Bruce has been taking ground balls at first base, James Wagner of the New York Times reports. Wagner adds that the Mets may consider playing him there in order to open up room for Brandon Nimmo to receive everyday playing time again. First base incumbent Adrian Gonzalez has struggled mightily thus far, with just a .203/.300/.320 batting line on the season. It’s still only April, but in light of his struggles last year with the Dodgers, Gonzalez’s leash might be fairly short. That’s particularly true since Nimmo reached base in half of his 38 MLB plate appearances this season. It’s fair to think that the Mets are looking hard for ways to lock Nimmo into an everyday role.

Other news out of the NL…

  • Pirates infielder Jung Ho Kang won’t receive any discipline from MLB, nor will the team dole out any punishment, Rob Biertempfel of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports on Twitter. Kang was denied a U.S. visa for all of last year due to multiple DUI-related arrests. He’s finally able to return to the Pirates as of Thursday.
  • Today, the Giants reinstated Chris Stratton from the paternity list, optioning outfielder Austin Slater to Triple-A Sacramento in a corresponding move. Within hours, however, the club reversed its reported stance on Mac Williamson’s status, placing him on the seven-day concussion DL. The move allowed the Giants to recall Slater, who’s directly replacing Williamson. Stratton sports an impressive 2.32 ERA and 2.69 FIP across five starts this season, though the fact that he hasn’t allowed any homers despite a 37.8% hard contact rate suggests he might have been a bit lucky in that regard. Stratton will take his scheduled turn through the rotation today against the Dodgers.
  • In other Giants news, second baseman Joe Panik has been placed on the disabled list with a sprained left thumb. The club correspondingly purchased the contract of second baseman/outfielder Alen Hanson, who leads the Triple-A Pacific Coast League with a .403 batting average. The club moved Mark Melancon to the 60-day DL in order to clear room on the 40-man roster for Hanson.
  • The Braves have reinstated left-hander Luiz Gohara from the disabled list and optioned him to Triple-A Gwinnett, David O’Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports. Gohara suffered a sprained ankle during a spring training outing, and had exhausted the maximum amount of time allotted for rehab starts. He’ll likely make a couple more starts in the minors before returning to help the Braves at the major league level. Gohara had figured to be a prominent part of Atlanta’s rotation before the season began.
  • The Reds announced that infielder Cliff Pennington has cleared waivers and accepted an outright assignment to Triple-A Louisville. Pennington, who signed a minors deal in the offseason, made the club out of spring training camp as a bench player. However, he’s struck out in nearly 40 percent of his plate appearances thus far and has yet to sock an extra-base hit.
Show all

MLB Trade Rumors is not affiliated with Major League Baseball, MLB or MLB.com

hide arrows scroll to top