PLAYER SPOTLIGHT

Jay Bruce, Mets

As Bruce struggled through an awful first month after his trade to the Mets last Aug. 1, the popular narrative was that he couldn’t play in New York. He didn’t buy it, and this spring he told Mets manager Terry Collins, “I’m the player you traded for.” Bruce has looked like that player this April, with a pair of two-homer games, both against the Phillies.