The New York Mets have a logjam in the outfield and could try to solve it by dealing away Jay Bruce.
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Phillies Interested in Bruce
Sunday, Jan. 15
According to Jim Salisbury of CSNPhilly.com, the Philadelphia Phillies have had a "longstanding interest" in Bruce, although the team might not want to match the reported price of two prospects.
The 29-year-old is under contract for $13 million through the 2017 season.
Bruce was acquired by the Mets shortly before the 2016 trade deadline after spending nine years with the Cincinnati Reds. Although he had a strong start to the year in Cincinnati with 25 home runs and 80 RBI in 97 games, he struggled immensely in New York.
Over the final two months of the season, he hit just eight home runs with 19 RBI and a .219 batting average in 50 games. His OPS was just .685 with the Mets, down from .875 in Cincinnati.
He looked nothing like the player who had made three All-Star appearances with 233 home runs with the Reds.
Despite the poor performance, New York picked up his reasonable team option at the end of the season to keep him on the roster. However, the re-signing of Yoenis Cespedes led to an overload of corner outfielders when paired with Curtis Granderson and Michael Conforto.
Although the Mets have been unable to find a trade partner throughout the offseason, general manager Sandy Alderson blamed outside circumstances.
"The situation right now has been created by the number of free agents that exist," he said, per Mike Puma of the New York Post.
Until fellow sluggers like Mark Trumbo and Jose Bautista are off the board, it will be hard to create a legitimate market for Bruce.
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