Mets best bet at trading Jay Bruce is still a deal with the Rockies

Trading Jay Bruce would help the New York Mets clear some excess baggage. The Colorado Rockies are still the best bet in making a deal.

Not much has changed when discussing the possibility of trading Jay Bruce. The New York Mets outfielder turned part-time first baseman is still a poor fit for the team. When it comes to trading him, the difficulties remain the same.

Bruce has two years left on his deal and about as many suitors as I had in middle school. As an overweight teen with bad skin, worse social skills, and an inability to speak to the opposite gender, I was doomed to wait it out much like the Mets may have to with Bruce.

There is one team that stands out as a possibility. The Colorado Rockies received very poor production from first base in 2018. They also lost a couple of outfielders and players at other positions to free agency this winter. Could there indeed be a match?

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Reliever Bryan Shaw is the obvious man in the Rockies’ locker room that could swap places with Bruce. His horrendous first year with Colorado is reason enough to shop him.

Both Bruce and Shaw are on contracts their respective teams should have some regret over. Bruce is owed $28 million over the next two seasons. Shaw has a minimum of $19.5 million headed his way over the next three years. In that third year, there’s a team option which may become guaranteed if he stays healthy in the years prior.

A 5.93 ERA is a scary thing to take on. However, prior to his first year with the Rockies, Shaw was sharp. In his years with the Arizona Diamondbacks and Cleveland Indians, he never finished a season with an ERA higher than 3.52.

The same way Shaw could improve with a move to Citi Field, Bruce may find the Fountain of Youth by heading to the thin Denver air. There’s no doubt hitters have a better time playing for the Rockies than they do the Mets. The same should be true of relief pitchers although that doesn’t always work.

There are likely a few American League teams who may consider Bruce. In these cases, the Mets may need to eat a portion of his salary or take on an equally as poor contract.

Bruce won’t offer the Mets much over the next two years. At best, he hits well and blocks Peter Alonso.

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If there’s anyone willing to strike a deal, they have to move him. The Rockies may be the only ones with a clear need at the positions he plays with the right player to include.