Mets need to give slumping Jay Bruce a mental health break

New York Mets right fielder Jay Bruce is struggling and it’s time he watches from the bench for a few games.

In Sunday’s finale against the Arizona Diamondbacks, New York Mets right fielder Jay Bruce had one of those familiar days. Even though the Mets managed to come from behind and defeat the Diamondbacks 5-3, Bruce didn’t participate on the positive side.

In four at-bats, Bruce struck out three times and left four men on base. If not for the ninth inning rally which plated four Mets runs, this would have surely been the big storyline of the game. Instead, the team’s two best hitters this season, Brandon Nimmo and Asdrubal Cabrera, bailed him out.

Bruce has been unforgivably bad this season. Through his first 212 at-bats, the left-handed hitting slugger has hit only three home runs. His slugging percentage of .321 is even more horrifying for a guy who made a career out of hitting the ball a long way.

As I saw one Twitter delicately point out with some profanity, it’s hard to call Bruce a slugger when he’s not doing much slugging. Where are the big home runs? Heck, where are the runs batted in?

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Bruce has driven in just 17 runs this season. This type of production is unacceptable for a bat in the middle of the lineup. Even Wilmer Flores, who has about 100 fewer chances, has 14 RBI. The dearly departed Adrian Gonzalez won’t have to worry about Bruce catching him anytime soon either with his 26.

Among qualified players, Bruce is ranked 153rd out of 160 in slugging percentage. Interestingly enough, two of the players below him are light-hitting outfielders Delino DeShields Jr. and Billy Hamilton. Both of them have two home runs this season which means they could catch up to Bruce with one lucky swing.

There aren’t many positive things to say about Bruce this year. Perhaps the only thing to do is sit him for a few days to clear his head.

New York Yankees manager Aaron Boone gave Gary Sanchez a brief mental health break last week and it seemed to help him on offense and defense. I don’t expect Bruce to suddenly snap out of it. He’s getting paid regardless of performance. He’s also on a team playing for very little at the moment.

Embarrassment might be the only way to light a fire under Bruce. Seeing his at-bats disappear in favor of others could force Bruce’s bat to light up. It also won’t hurt to play a few games at Coors Field.

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Nevertheless, a mental health break could send Bruce a message. Clearly, the Mets don’t need him to win games. A brief punishment of watching from the bench could do the trick.

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