Jay Bruce Sucks!

[TransMonk]

.198/.268/.336/.604 with 34 Ks in 127 PA since joining the Mets.

I have to think the Mets could be a couple of wins better if Bruce was pulling his weight...much less playing to the level of the clean up hitter the Mets thought they were getting.

[Guest cooby]

When we got Jay Bruce, he had the most fan points of any position player on my fantasy team.

Now, unless I need to plug in a vacant spot, he is on my bench

[Frayed Knot]

And it's not like you can argue that he looks like he's close to finding it. If it's possible to hit a soft .198 and seem like he's swinging even worse than that then Bruce has found a way.

Meanwhile, problem #2 is d'Arnaud who now has nearly as many PA this season as last.
But while he had 27 XBH in what was essentially 1/2 of a season in 2015, he has all of 10 this year and I can't remember a single "big" hit from him all season which pretty much explains the whopping 14 RBIs (4 since mid-July).

[ashie62]

Does Bruce have a team option for 2017?

[Benjamin Grimm]

According to Baseball Reference, Bruce's contract status for 2017 is "$13M Team Option, $1M Buyout"

[Lefty Specialist]

Really surprised at how bad he's been. I knew he was streaky but this is getting ridiculous.

[Frayed Knot]

Benjamin Grimm wrote: According to Baseball Reference, Bruce's contract status for 2017 is "$13M Team Option, $1M Buyout"

That's still a 'must pick up' option to me. Even if you're aiming to trade him you have to pick it up in order to do so.

For all his problems since he showed up here he still has more XBHs this season than does Cespedes (61 in 533 PA vs 51 in 458) and gets them at about the same rate. Plus it's still just 119 ABs for Bruce, and while that's beyond just merely slump territory, you still have to look at his career as a whole and figure that's the norm and this sample the exception.

[ashie62]

He may suck right now but I do believe he will get a Metsian offer. You never know, they could trade him or something like Cespedes not coming back happens.

[Guest d'Kong76]

The way I understand it they don't need to make a Metsian offer to retain him,
they need to give him $1million. My guess is he'll be a Met next year, hopefully what-
ever bugaboo that is causing the colossal suck (I mean, it's really bad) will work itself
out sometime sooner than later. Putting the current Bruce on a playoff roster is a pretty
frightening thought.

[Guest John Cougar Lunchbucket]

they don't need to give him anything: He has a 13m contract if we want it. The 1m is only if we decide against picking ot up

[Guest John Cougar Lunchbucket]

John Cougar Lunchbucket wrote: they don't need to give him anything: He has a 13m contract if we want it. The 1m is only if we decide against picking it up

[Guest d'Kong76]

$1million buyout... right, pay attention d'K...

[Frayed Knot]

d'Kong76 wrote: The way I understand it they don't need to make a Metsian offer to retain him, they need to give him $1million.

They need to give him $13 million in order to keep him for 2017. The $1 million is to make him go away.

The other alternative is to negotiate a different contract entirely, a deal which would go beyond 2017 and replace the current one. I doubt they'll take that road but maybe it's worth discussing.

[Edgy MD]

All I care about Cousin Brucie right now is that he comes ready to contribute tomorrow. Fortunately, the Mets currently have a lot of redundancy with 5+ left handed-hitting outfielders.

[Guest Mets Guy in Michigan]

I think Bruce is an All-Star caliber player going through a very, very difficult slump. If we didn't exercise the option and set him free, he's be without a job for about 10 minutes.

[Guest LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr]

I think Bruce was a borderline All Star a long time ago.

I know he's been a borderline liability overall over the last two years even when he's hitting 30 home runs and such.

[Centerfield]

I was against the trade and all, but I didn't think he would be this bad. Yeesh.

[MFS62]

I root for every player on the Mets to do well.
But he's making me expend a lot of rooting energy on him.

Later

[TransMonk]

I mean really.

[A Boy Named Seo]

I wanna trade Jay Bruce for J Mascis.

[Guest d'Kong76]

Hopefully they'll lose him on the tarmac when boarding... or he'll wake the
fuck up and start contributing. Jeebus, if he was AVERAGE the Mets would be
like 4-5 games better. Am I wrong?

[Edgy MD]

Probably. On the other hand, if he AND Loney were average ... .

In fairness, nobody elbus got it done today.

[nymr83]

well, Loney was picked up off the scrap heap - it didnt cost Herrera to get him, so the expectations are lower

[Guest John Cougar Lunchbucket]

Terry said yesterday that Bruce was his guy, and that he'll continue trotting him out there till the results improve. Bruce himself appears CAHNfident that this will help him out of the doldrums more than sitting him out, which we've tried without success so far anyway.

I have to say, I'm warily with them here. Conforto/Nimmo could be, but haven't been, any more reliable. The Mets got Bruce to replace the offense/batting slot that went missing with Doodoo so I'm just pretending Bruce is Doodoo in a radical slump.

[Ceetar]

Bruce at his best is Duda in a slump.

But he's started on the bench 5 of the last 19 games. If someone else, Conforto, Nimmo..could start hitting, he'd probably sit even more.

[Guest Rockin' Doc]

Nymr83 wrote: well, Loney was picked up off the scrap heap - it didnt cost Herrera to get him, so the expectations are lower

Loney has performed much better than Bruce as a Met. He's provided solid defense (granted w/ limited range) and has out hit several of the regulars* that the Mets were counting on going into the season. All in all, he has been a decent pick up for the team. Jay Bruce has been an entirely different matter. He still hasn't left the interstate and he cost a prospect and a sizable salary to get him. He really needs to step it up and start hitting.

*Yeah, I'm calling out D'Arnaud, Conforto, and Granderson too. At least Granderson is starting to wake up and hit..

[Benjamin Grimm]

Two thoughts on Jay Bruce:

1. I don't know much about him, but they say he's "streaky". I hope he has a hot streak coming that's long enough, and hot enough, to counterbalance how awful he's been so far. If that happens (starting, like, now) that will be a very good thing for the Mets, and well-timed as well. But I'll believe it when I see it.

2. He seems to have been beloved in Cincinnati, and the fans there seem to have been regretting his departure about as much as we've regretted his arrival. I was trying to think if there were any opposite examples in Mets history, where Mets fans were thinking "how could they let him leave?" while said player was stinking things up on his new team. I couldn't really think of anyone. (Maybe Edgardo Alfonzo with the Giants in 2003? Not really the same, but it was the best I could come up with.)

[Frayed Knot]

Rockin' Doc wrote: Loney has performed much better than Bruce as a Met.

Yeah, but not so much lately -- .213 with one XBH in August
Not what you want from your 1st baseman

[Ceetar]

Of the 36 batters the Mets have used this season, James Loney is dead last in fWAR.

In the second half, the only Mets with a lower wRC+ are Jay Bruce, Brandon Nimmo (19pa), Cecchini (1)

His defense is rated pretty poorly too.

[Guest John Cougar Lunchbucket]

When Loney was "good" he was doing about what he always did -- decent BA, not much else. That's a borderline 1B to start with and why he was toiling in AAA. And then he slumped off that.