The Cleveland Indians are looking to get back to the world series this year and after a 1-5 West Coast road trip, things are looking shaky lately. The Tribe’s offense has sputtered as of late, as numerous position players have struggled at the plate this season. With the MLB trade deadline approaching quickly, the Indians are searching for a spark plug at the dish fast.
According to Jon Heyman, the Tribe have expressed interest in New York Mets’ outfielder Jay Bruce. Bruce was of interest to the Tribe last season before he was dealt to the Mets and the Indians picked up Brandon Guyer as a platoon-man in the outfield.
jay bruce could be of interest to the Indians, who are looking at a few different areas
— Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) July 20, 2017
Bruce has 24 home runs on the year and 66 runs batted in to go with that. With numbers like that, a worry would be the batting average. Bruce is still batting.266, which isn’t standout but definitely better than most power bats out there. Though he is on pace to strike out more than last season, as his 86 whiffs are very close to his overall 126 strikeouts last season, but the argument about too many strikeouts is starting to go away in baseball with most players striking out a bunch with production staying at a high rate.
The only problem with Bruce is quite simple: Where do you play him in the field?
Bruce plays right field primarily and has been there for his whole career. The only other spot you can put him at is first base, where he has played seven games overall at with the Cincinnati Reds in the past and the Mets this season.
If you’re the Indians, do you put Bruce at first base and start bracing yourself for the departure of Carlos Santana?
Time will tell.
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