The New York Mets still want an outfielder after their deal for Carlos Gomez fell apart (for whatever reason), and the name they’ve been tied to today is Jay Bruce of the Cincinnati Reds. Via Jon Heyman of CBS Sports…
The Mets and Reds continue to talk about star outfielder Jay Bruce, who seems like the Mets’ likeliest outfield option now.
The teams have discussed recovering starter Zack Wheeler going back to Cincinnati in the deal but it isn’t clear what else may be part of the package.
Bruce is still just 28 and, like Gomez, he’s signed through 2016 and isn’t a rental.
This season with Cincinnati, Bruce is hitting .257/.341/.486 with 17 homers (just one shy of his total last year) and six steals. Bruce is due the balance of a $12 million salary for 2015, $12.5 million in 2016, and has a $1 million buyout owed on a 2017 club option for $13 million.
The Mets haven’t gotten much of anything from left field this year, as the position has produced a .238/.300/.410 line on the year. Bruce would definitely be an upgrade over the injured (and still under contract for 2016!) Michael Cuddyer. New York did call up 22-year old rookie Michael Conforto last week, and he’s hit .211/.348/.316 in six games, but the team seemingly has no desire to keep him in the majors on a long-term basis.
Zack Wheeler heading to Cincinnati would make sense, as the Reds have already dealt away two starters in Johnny Cueto and Mike Leake. Bringing in Wheeler would give them another young starter to pair with Anthony DeSclafani at the top of their rotation in 2016.
