BRAND NEW JAY
Bruce deserving of 2nd chance to show what he can do in Citi
THERE is nothing wrong with just being Jay Bruce.
That is one of the Mets’ many goals for spring training, which is just around the Super Bowl corner.
The Mets are giving the outfielder a second chance as the everyday right fielder, as The Post’s Ken Davidoff reported Tuesday. And that’s a great move by the team. There is no trade market for the $13 million player in the final year of his contract, so there is no sense in giving Bruce away to save money. Bruce deserves a second chance in New York.
This time he knows what’s hitting him in the face and as a result he should start hitting like he has in past years.
This was a player who was clearly overwhelmed by the circumstances last year after coming over in an Aug. 1 trade from the Reds, the only organization Bruce had played for during his career.
Bruce turns 30 on Opening Day. He is in the prime of his career that has witnessed an average of 29 home runs and 93 RBIs over the last six seasons. He should be able to do that again with the Mets as long as he does not put too much pressure on himself. Learn from last year. Bruce tried to be a superhero at Citi Field and that is reserved for only a few players wearing the Mets uniform — starting with Yoenis Cespedes and Noah Syndergaard. Matt Harvey will try to regain his Dark Knight status in 2017.
In Port St. Lucie, it’s going to be all about the comeback. That will be the theme. The Mets have so many players looking to rebound and if they do the Mets easily will make the postseason for the third straight year.
For those concerned this move will hold back Michael Conforto, this actually gives Conforto a little more room to grow as the young outfielder tries to figure it all out. In spring training, let Conforto and Bruce get some time at first base as well because Lucas Duda isn’t a sure thing with his back woes.
The Mets, though, should not be using Bruce’s $13 million price tag as an excuse not to go out and shore up the shaky bullpen. Such poor thinking immediately gives Bruce another mental hurdle to overcome. The Mets are this close and need to pay what it takes to strengthen the pen.
Bruce fell into a trap last year. He tried to be something he is not. He really didn’t want to be traded to the Mets, he would have preferred to go to his native Texas and once he was traded he tried too hard to prove New York wasn’t going to get the best of him. Faster than you can say Jason Bay, Bruce was a lost baseball soul.
“I thought he was trying too hard,’’ explained one veteran scout Wednesday, who watched Bruce struggle throughout his time with the Mets. “I don’t know if he really wanted to be in New York. Once he got here, he tried a little too hard to produce and it didn’t work.’’
It sure didn’t as Bruce batted .219 with just eight home runs and 19 RBIs in 169 at-bats with the Mets, a .685 OPS. He capped it off with an 0-for-3 in the 3-0 loss to the Giants and Madison Bumgarner in the NL wild-card game.
Now Bruce gets a second chance because of circumstances.
Veteran baseball writer Hal McCoy, who was honored in 2002 as the winner of the J.G. Taylor Spink Award at the National Baseball Hall of Fame, knows Bruce as well as anyone in the game. McCoy has covered the Reds for the last 44 years and he expects Mets fans to see a much different player in 2017.
“I don’t think the Mets are going to be sorry that they did this,’’ McCoy said Wednesday. “I think he is going to get acclimated to the situation there and the true Jay Bruce is going to come out and he’ll be a real asset to the Mets both on and off the field.’’
Just be Jay Bruce.