NFT: Mets sign Jay Bruce

years 39 million

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Let’s just hope there is no deferred money, or we will be paying him until he is 70 like Bonilla.

!

In comment 13782264 figgy2989 said:

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Let’s just hope there is no deferred money, or we will be paying him until he is 70 like Bonilla.

Could still be true (backloaded). Wouldn't shock me at all something like 5, 15, 19

and provides some insurance if Smith doesn't pan out at 1B. I'm OK with it, he's a solid Veteran. Lots more to do hopefully...

But I think that’s a great signing for the Mets given the price.

And they shouldn't be. His power #s were good but his BA, OBP and slugging were all too low.

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but not going to beat a dead horse about it.

Either Conforto is a full time CF for 3 years now or Smith is a bust. Maybe they can get some value via trade for Lagares.

Alderson has no plan whatsoever

Conforto isn’t a CF. This is stupid. Spend that money on a real 3B, 2B, or 1B

Jay Bruce deal with #Mets is backloaded. Breakdown, per source: $10M this season, $14.5M in 2019, $14.5M in ‘20.

Jeesh. How exactly are they hurting for funds this season. After the boatload of contracts came off the books???

insurance than Smith insurance.

Conforto is out until what? May?

And then my guess is the OF will be Cespedes, Conforto, and Bruce. I don't think the Mets view Nimmo and Lagares as a desirable platoon (despite Sandy's Nimmo sarcastic commentary).

I do think Bruce could occasionally play 1B and provide Smith insurance, but unfortunately not as a platoon since they're both lefties. Would have been better f Bruce was a righty and could spell Smith against lefties (assuming Smith struggles at all and if he struggles with lefties).

I can see the Mets trying to trade Lagares too. Wouldn't expect much return, but I believe they also need to make a 40-man move to make Bruce official (not positive). Of course they can waive someone like Matt Reynolds, but maybe trading Lagares is preferable.

We aint going anywhere

In comment 13782293 spike said:

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We aint going anywhere

Yup. Ignoring the real holes on the team. Bringing back players from a shitty Mets team. Don’t tell me you’re building a team on pitching if you aren’t serious about defense.

It's like we're content just spinning our wheels for the next 3 - 5 years.

..

In comment 13782302 Modus Operandi said:

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It's like we're content just spinning our wheels for the next 3 - 5 years.

x2.

they can get Duda for cheap too

but realistically speaking it's short money even in the back loaded 2 years and the Mets are better with Bruce than without Bruce.

Are there other players out there that could make the Mets better than Bruce? Yes, but this is our reality.

Team is built around pitching and you're going to field what's probably the worst defensive OF in the league. That's with Conforto. And it doesn't get better in the IF.

We have maybe 3 league average or better defensive players. Your best offensive player is starting the year on the DL and your big off-season signing is guy who's going to hit .235 and hit 30 HRs.

Atrocious.

I'm ok with Bruce the hitter in a vacuum. He's a proven RBI guy and they need someone to hit 5th behind Cespedes and Conforto. He got some big hits in his short run as a Met, he got some big hits for the Indians, and hit a couple homers in the series against the Yankees.

When we step outside the vacuum however his style fits with everything that's been wrong with the Mets approach the last bunch of years. He weakens the defense at 2 positions simultaneously by forcing Conforto back into CF.

I guess it wouldn't be a Sandy offseason if we didn't try to put a square peg in a round hole. Guess we should all brace for the Reyes resigning to play 2B and hit leadoff.

I do like Bruce as an offensive player but this proves how Alderson is just all over the place

1. Mets have zero OF prospects. None. Nada

2. Flores at 3B might not be ideal but Wilmer and Cabrera/Riveria is vastly better offensively than Nimmo/ Lagares, so it makes sense to sign a corner OF

3. Conforto will miss time and is a question mark since he dislocated his shoulder just swining a bat

4. Cespedes has missed time each of the last two seasons.

I don’t think Dom Smith has anything to do with it. Bruce is s terrible 1B and if Smith is sent down, Flores likely takes his place, not Bruce, with Riveria, Cecchini and Cabrera manning 2b and 3B

Of course, we would rather have Martinez but realistically this is the Mets and this is not a bad move. To me, Bruce is the most steady rbi guy on the team.Runner on third with less than two outs,Jay usually gets him home

This is s typical Mets/Sandy move, especially in regard to ignoring the defensive ramifications.

But given the utter lack of prospects, OF is clearly the biggest need over the next few yeArs. Is Bruce ideal? No. But Mets are not signing anyone to s mega deal. So within their financial parameters, this is not s bad move

In comment 13782354 Vanzetti said:

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This is s typical Mets/Sandy move, especially in regard to ignoring the defensive ramifications. But given the utter lack of prospects, OF is clearly the biggest need over the next few yeArs. Is Bruce ideal? No. But Mets are not signing anyone to s mega deal. So within their financial parameters, this is not s bad move

Mega deal, no. But If they're paying Bruce 13m/per, isn't it worth the extra $3-$5m for Cain? Fowler in CF got $16.5M per last year. Even if Cain's not a GG anymore at 31 he should be able to stick in CF for at least a few more years. You could probably amputate one of his legs and he'd still be a better defensive player than Bruce.

Now get a 2B/3B and Dickey and Im content....

People want shiny toys but Bruce is a good player that adds back something we sorely need. We lost a ton of pop in trading away Duda, Bruce, Walker, and Grandy...

This hedges against injuries in the OF and Smith, Rosario, and Nimmo not becoming amazing in 2018 right away.

Anybody thinking Nimmo, Lagares, Cespedes, and Conforto were going to stay healthy all year need their heads examined anyway. There were still be plenty of play for Nimmo for those rooting for him and Conforto can play CF for 2-3 years as long as he keeps the weight off. He's a baby.

Harrison, Walker, Frazier, or Moose. Just bring in one more solid vet for the lineup.

In comment 13782348 Vanzetti said:

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1. Mets have zero OF prospects. None. Nada 2. Flores at 3B might not be ideal but Wilmer and Cabrera/Riveria is vastly better offensively than Nimmo/ Lagares, so it makes sense to sign a corner OF 3. Conforto will miss time and is a question mark since he dislocated his shoulder just swining a bat 4. Cespedes has missed time each of the last two seasons. I don’t think Dom Smith has anything to do with it. Bruce is s terrible 1B and if Smith is sent down, Flores likely takes his place, not Bruce, with Riveria, Cecchini and Cabrera manning 2b and 3B Of course, we would rather have Martinez but realistically this is the Mets and this is not a bad move. To me, Bruce is the most steady rbi guy on the team.Runner on third with less than two outs,Jay usually gets him home

+1.

In comment 13782382 ZGiants98 said:

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Now get a 2B/3B and Dickey and Im content.... People want shiny toys but Bruce is a good player that adds back something we sorely need. We lost a ton of pop in trading away Duda, Bruce, Walker, and Grandy... This hedges against injuries in the OF and Smith, Rosario, and Nimmo not becoming amazing in 2018 right away. Anybody thinking Nimmo, Lagares, Cespedes, and Conforto were going to stay healthy all year need their heads examined anyway. There were still be plenty of play for Nimmo for those rooting for him and Conforto can play CF for 2-3 years as long as he keeps the weight off. He's a baby.

Man, you are the ultimate homer as a fan.

In comment 13782398 Meats and Cheeses said:

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In comment 13782382 ZGiants98 said: Quote: Now get a 2B/3B and Dickey and Im content.... People want shiny toys but Bruce is a good player that adds back something we sorely need. We lost a ton of pop in trading away Duda, Bruce, Walker, and Grandy... This hedges against injuries in the OF and Smith, Rosario, and Nimmo not becoming amazing in 2018 right away. Anybody thinking Nimmo, Lagares, Cespedes, and Conforto were going to stay healthy all year need their heads examined anyway. There were still be plenty of play for Nimmo for those rooting for him and Conforto can play CF for 2-3 years as long as he keeps the weight off. He's a baby. Man, you are the ultimate homer as a fan.

He is. But I can't fault him for it. This team is in purgatory for a few years - it will probably be bad, but could be good if injuries (or lack thereof) break right.

Gotta be optimistic about the upcoming season. Until there is no reason to.

That said - FUCK the Wilpons..

overpaid in todays market. I think some of these players might end up sitting by their phones come April/May begging to take a job. This is a meh transaction

Throw in one of the middle relievers Sandy got last year if you have to.

Sign Dickey

And this team wins 89 games and makes the playoffs

right?

Cespedes, Lagares, Nimmo, and Conforto are made of glass and I’m happy we signed a 38 HR, 3 WAR player who just had his 30th birthday on a very reasonable deal? Da fuq?

Btw, Mets need to make two more moves before I’m optimistic about 2018.

In comment 13782413 Vanzetti said:

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Throw in one of the middle relievers Sandy got last year if you have to. Sign Dickey And this team wins 89 games and makes the playoffs

Cabrera and Cecchini isn’t getting you Kipnis and if Kipnis is brought in you need Cabrera to play 3B. A Kipnis package would sting.. Dunn, Alonso, ect.. those guys...

And how many players are still on the board, Sandy has been one of the more active GMs. 😂

In comment 13782348 Vanzetti said:

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3. Conforto will miss time and is a question mark since he dislocated his shoulder just swining a bat

Sanchez hurt his shoulder swinging a bat last year, too. Cost him a month or so.

In comment 13782426 ZGiants98 said:

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Cespedes, Lagares, Nimmo, and Conforto are made of glass and I’m happy we signed a 38 HR, 3 WAR player who just had his 30th birthday on a very reasonable deal? Da fuq? Btw, Mets need to make two more moves before I’m optimistic about 2018.

100% agree.

Need to find a serviceable SP to back up this staff and still provide depth in the bullpen in the interim. Bud Norris?

I like his position flexibility, and i generally think he's a better player than Cespedes.

In comment 13782437 section125 said:

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In comment 13782348 Vanzetti said: Quote: 3. Conforto will miss time and is a question mark since he dislocated his shoulder just swining a bat Sanchez hurt his shoulder swinging a bat last year, too. Cost him a month or so.

Conforto had surgery. Not the same injury.

In comment 13782417 jlukes said:

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right?

I read last night that he gets to name 5 teams each year of the deal that he can add to a no trade list.

about this sort of deal is that when the Mets offer a 3 year contract to an also-ran type of player that likely will block at least one of Nimmo or Smith at some point, they are basically admitting that they don't have faith in their first round picks.

For a team with such limited financial resources, it's very concerning to be missing on first round picks like this. With the #6 pick in the draft after losing so many games last year, I'm concerned that Sandy is going to blow the pick.

Also, looks like the Mets are doubling down on the very low OBP, high strikeout, all or nothing HR type of hitters that we had last year.

Jay Bruce's first half in 2017 is what we're getting, or whether his 2014-2017 seasons in aggregate are what we're getting.

There's some hope for optimism. I said above that he had low OBP, but he's shown improvement there. From 2014-2017, his OBP is .281, .294, .309, .324. That's a good trend.

Fangraphs summarized the deal as:

"Steamer thinks the Mets will be hard-pressed to squeeze surplus value out of the deal, but both Bruce’s 2017 season and his swing might very well be repeatable.

Steamer projects Bruce to post 23 home runs and a 106 wRC+ over 478 plate appearances. The result of that? Just 1.0 WAR. But projection systems might not capture the extent of Bruce’s swing and philosophical changes. Bruce’s new, more extreme approach could very well be repeatable.

Now, the Mets have to find a place for the swing.

Mets Nation was once upset that Bruce was blocking Michael Conforto early last season. And it’s not clear at the moment where Bruce will fit.

With Conforto’s shoulder still an unknown, Bruce supplies some outfield insurance. But the Mets also have Yoenis Cespedes, Juan Lagares, and Brandon Nimmo in the outfield. Perhaps Bruce can also be a hedge against struggles from Dominic Smith at first base."

what would the Mets opening-day lineup look like?

but a good signing? 3 years/39M for a guy who is 30 and routinely hits 30 HR and 25-35 HR.

what would a 4-man rotation look like coming out of spring training (and then expanding to a 5-man staff after X-amount of time)?

In comment 13782559 ryanmkeane said:

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but a good signing? 3 years/39M for a guy who is 30 and routinely hits 30 HR and 25-35 HR.

On it's own it's a perfectly fine signing, good price/solid player, it's just a question of whether or not it's the best use of what's likely the majority of their remaining budget. Moving Conforto to CF basically full time the next 3 years is less than ideal also no matter which way you slice it.

i agree with that...but this isn't a "spin the wheels" type signing as some people on here have said. Bruce is one of the better sluggers in the game.

In comment 13782556 Beezer said:

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what would the Mets opening-day lineup look like?

2B (most likely candidate is Reyes on the cheap)
3B Cabrera
LF Cespedes
RF Bruce
C TDA
1B Smith
CF Lagares (maybe platoon with Nimmo?)
SS Rosario

Pretty weak 5-8 until Conforto comes back unless someone has a big time breakout.