Mets Picking Up $13M Option On Jay Bruce
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- Jay Bruce, who struggled to adjust to his new surroundings after the Mets acquired him in a deadline deal this past season, will be back in Flushing next year.
The Mets are exercising the $13 million option for 2017 on the three-time All-Star slugger, WFAN baseball insider Jon Heyman reported Thursday.
Bruce was leading the National League in RBIs when he was traded from the Reds to New York on Aug. 1. But in 50 games with the Mets, he batted just .219 with eight home runs and 19 RBIs and was the subject of much criticism by the media and fans.
Bruce's bat, however, came alive over the final eight games of the regular season, when he hit .480 with four homers and eight RBIs. He was 0-for-3 in the Mets' wild-card loss to the Giants.
In nine seasons in the majors, Bruce, 29, has batted .248 with 241 home runs and 737 RBIs.
Bruce will return to an outfield set to also include Curtis Granderson, Michael Conforto, Juan Lagares and Alejandro De Aza. Yoenis Cespedes is expected to opt out of his contract and test the free agent waters.
As expected, the Mets also have picked up the option for infielder Jose Reyes, Heyman reported. New York will pay him the league minimum of $507,500.
