The New York Mets have addressed their offensive woes as they traded for outfielder Jay Bruce of the Cincinnati Reds. The deal originally revolved around Brandon Nimmo and low level prospects. However, due to issues with the physicals, the deal had to be reworked. The Reds instead received infielder Dilson Herrera and pitcher Max Wotell
The Reds have acquired from the Mets IF Dilson Herrera and LHP Max Wotell in exchange for OF Jay Bruce.
— Cincinnati Reds (@Reds) August 1, 2016
Mets Acquire Jay Bruce to Address Offensive Woes
The Mets have really struggled on offense this year. They have been a home run or bust team. They are tied for 9th in the Majors in home runs, with 133. When they cannot hit them out of the park, they have trouble scoring, as they are 28th in the Majors with 381 runs scored. A big reason why they are not scoring a lot is due to their anemic hitting with runners in scoring position. The team is hitting .206 with 227 runs when runners are on second or third. That is fifteen points and thirty-three runs fewer than the next highest average and amount of runs scored.
Bruce should give the Mets a sizable upgrade on offense. Bruce has hit for a slash line of .265/.316/.559 with ninety-eight hits, sixty runs, twenty-two doubles, six triples, twenty-five home runs, and a league leading eighty RBI. Upon joining the team, he will lead every Met in each of those categories. He will have the most hits by three, the most runs by eleven, the most doubles by three, the most triples by two, the most home runs by three, and the most RBI by twenty-two.
Bruce is in the final year of his 6-year $51 million contract. He is being paid $12.5 million this year. After this year Bruce has a team option which is worth $13 million or a buyout worth $1 million.
Herrera ranked as the 4th-best prospect in the Mets organization and the #46 prospect in all of baseball in 2015. The 22-year-old righty put up an impressive .825 OPS over a five-year career in the minors. Wotell is young, just 19 years old, but the left-hander has a 3.60 ERA, 1.18 WHIP, and 10.58 K/9 in forty innings pitched since 2015, which earned him the distinction of being the 18th-best prospect in the Mets organization this season.
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