New York Mets Trade Jay Bruce to Cleveland Indians for Ryder Ryan
The New York Mets have finally found a taker for veteran outfielder Jay Bruce.
The Mets have announced that they have traded Bruce to the Cleveland Indians in exchange for right-handed pitching prospect Ryder Ryan.
According to Yahoo Sports' Jeff Passan, the Indians will assume the remainder of Bruce's salary this season, which is believed to be around $4.2 million, per ESPN.
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ESPN has also reported that the New York Yankees have also expressed interest in acquiring Bruce before he was traded to the Indians.
Bruce has played fairly well so far this year. In 103 games with the Mets this season, Bruce is posting a 0.256/0.321/0.520 slash line, and he also has 75 runs batted in and 29 home runs in 448 plate appearances.
With Bruce gone, the Mets will no longer have a logjam in the outfield and it should free up more playing time for Michael Conforto, Yoenis Cespedes and Curtis Granderson.
According to the New York Post, first-base prospect Dominic Smith is expected to be called up this month, and with a roster spot opening up, the Mets may bring him up to the majors sooner than anticipated.
"The next step for the Mets is to decide when to summon Smith, who is expected to get a first taste of the majors down the stretch," Dan Martin and Joel Sherman wrote in their report for the New York Post.
"Smith has also flourished in the hitter-friendly PCL, making it difficult to tell just how prepared he is to make the leap, but the Mets want to get a look at the 22-year-old who figures to be the Opening Day first baseman in 2018," they added.
Meanwhile, Ryan will be assigned to the Met's Class A affiliate, the Columbia Fireflies.
In 33 games with Lake County in the Class A Midwest League this season, Ryan is 3–4 with a 4.79 earned run average (ERA).
