Mets should do anything they can to move Jay Bruce in August

By any means necessary, the New York Mets need to get out from under Jay Bruce’s contract. Is anyone foolish enough to take it?

The MLB trade deadline has passed, but that doesn’t mean wheelin’ and dealin’ is complete. There’s still the August 31st waiver trade deadline to consider. For the New York Mets, this is an opportunity to shed some dead weight.

August trades are becoming a thing. Last year’s Justin Verlander blockbuster made sure of that. Though the Mets won’t move anyone of his caliber this federal holiday free August, there is one player I would hope they at least shop.

Jay Bruce‘s 2018 campaign has been a huge disappointment. After smashing home runs with regularity last year, the power-hitting outfielder knocked only three before landing on the disabled list for an indefinite length. It should be noted that none of those three bombs took place at Citi Field either.

That’s just the kind of year Mets batters have had at home this season.

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Bruce is what I consider an ideal August trade candidate. He’s on a bad contract with very little value. However, if he’s able to return and put together a few good games, someone might snatch him up. It’s highly unlikely, but worth looking into.

A trade for Bruce seems next to impossible. The Mets do have another route. If they were to place Bruce on waivers and let him get claimed, they could get out from under his contract.

We saw with the Jeurys Familia trade how important money is to this front office. So, to add a little extra to their pockets, it’s time to admit the Bruce signing was a mistake.

The problem here is that I don’t see this organization admitting to its recent failures. They strike me as a group who would rather make excuses. We’ll hear that Bruce struggled because of his injury. Next year will open up with Bruce in right field or at first base with subtle promises of “doing better.”

I believe the biggest mistake made by the Mets over the winter was not realizing what they already had in-house. They had plenty of slow-moving power-hitters. They had an abundance of outfielders, too. So why add Bruce?

Add to this, the Mets felt a need to go out and sign Jason Vargas when already they had enough questionable names in the mix to fill the rotation. When you add a surplus, you need to know what you’re getting back will definitely work.

Not a single one of them has.

General managers are smart and nobody would take Bruce even for free. His contract is over market value for a guy who may have nagging injuries for the rest of his career. This is a bullet the Mets will need to bite.

Next. Fans deserve better than the 2018 Mets

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It’s yet another bad contract attached to a player who has underperformed.

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