Mets 2017 Season in Review: Jay Bruce

How did he do in 2017?

Bruce finished the year with a slash line of .254/.324/.508. Those are some offensive numbers that the Mets needed back in that lineup. While in Queens Bruce led the Mets with 29 home runs. Michael Conforto was right behind him with 27. Much like the one-two punch that will be Jacob deGrom and Noah Syndergaard this year, Bruce and Conforto felt like that offensive combo that the Mets needed. He finished third overall in wRC with 67 total, only Michael Conforto and Asdrubal Cabrera finished the year with more. It would have been a huge loss for the Mets to lose that type of bat in the lineup. If they didn’t end up resigning Bruce, they would have had to go after someone with his statistical offensive equivalent just to fill that need.

Defensively, Bruce was solid as well. He put up a .990 fielding percentage in right field, where he started most of last year’s games. And a .976 fielding percentage in the 11 games he started at first base. His best percentages since his 2010 season with the Cincinnati Reds. Which is important, especially at first base, since he could be helping Dominic Smith out next season.