Some semi-significant news came out earlier this week, a report that the Mets have assured Jay Bruce that he will, in fact, be their right fielder for 2017. A number of factors may play into this decision – if it is an official decision at all. The Mets were openly trying to trade Bruce over the winter and found no takers. He is a veteran, a proven power hitter, a consistent 30 home run, 95 – 100 RBI guy and they don’t grow on trees, though they seemed to this offseason. The Mets want to go into spring training with as few question marks as possible, and they want Bruce in a good “head space” to get peak performance; security in one’s position tends to provide that. Besides, if he’s tearing things up in spring training, they can try and peddle him all over again. For the purposes of this discussion, let’s take the Mets at their word and assume Bruce will be the right fielder. With Yoenis Cespedes anchored in left and Curtis Granderson set to man center, where does that leave Michael Conforto?
Conforto blasted out of the minor leagues in 2015 and earned a starting spot on a pennant winning roster. Just a year after being drafted, he contributed some pop in the postseason. Things were looking bright as he tore apart the NL in April, finishing the month with a .365 batting average and a 1.118 OPS. On May 1, he faced Madison Bumgarner on a cool, drizzly afternoon at Citi Field. Bumgarner basically broke him. Conforto went 0-for-5 against the dominant lefty, striking out three times. Almost immediately after that, his season went south. He could only garner five hits in his next 36 at bats. After bumping along with plummeting stats at the end of June, he found himself back at AAA, where he proceeded ripping the ball to shreds again, warranting a return to the bigs in mid-July. Unfortunately, Terry Collins had lost confidence in him in the meantime and the Mets acquired Bruce in short order.
There has been talk that Conforto might start the season back in Las Vegas to get some at bats in the early going. That might be a mistake. You have veteran outfielders. They’re all going to need rest, especially at the start of the year: cold weather has a tendency to make hamstrings tight and ligaments fragile. Granderson will be 36 before spring training is over and is expected to patrol a deep expanse in Flushing. Bruce will be 30 come Opening Day, but has a body that makes him appear older – take it from one who knows. Add to this mix the fact that first baseman Lucas Duda has been plagued by back problems the last couple of years and while Conforto hasn’t played first base at any level, it might not be a bad idea to get him a mitt and train him at that infield corner position in March. Then, should Duda go down again, Conforto could fill in there if he’s shown he can handle it. And if, by the trading deadline, some wannabe contender is searching for a power hitter? Well, Jay Bruce might be just what it needs and a trade that didn’t happen in December might happen in July.
Look, no one is ever going to confuse Michael Conforto with Ben Zobrist. But at this point in his career, is it the worst idea to get him 350 – 400 at bats filling in and providing rest?
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The beginning of the season is actually the least likely time to “manufacture” bench player ab’s…much less a time when players need a break. Restricting ab’s for a young player is risky, and a “3rd LH hitting outfielder” could get pretty cold sitting on the bench for the first 4-6 weeks….deAza had 54 at bats in April and May Combined!!!
BTW…what the heck do you mean by: “Bruce will be 30 come Opening Day, but has a body that makes him appear older – take it from one who knows. “…..???
I mean he’s kind of bulky…as am I.
OK…now you need to post a side by side pic
I hate this. Not the post, but the situation.
Mets are screwing the pooch with how they are handling Conforto, IMO.
Wasting resources, not addressing weaknesses.
Sigh.
I am concerned about Conforto…I don’t know whether he can take development steps anywhere else but an MLB Batting Box. I’m concerned that he will over-power AAA Competition, and I’m concerned that the Helium and boredom could provoke a really bad approach.
Bruce is gonna hit 25 Homers and 90 RBI…The rest of the team???? In 3 weeks we’ll be hearing “best I’ve felt in a few Seasons….haven’t thrown pain free like this in a long time…… Really feel like I’m physically more able to swing the bat…”…. in 5-6 weeks you’ll know better whether the Post Surgical Brigade in the Infield and the Pitching Staff is ready to go or not.
I’m completely happy that they’ve done little…they have no idea what they’re building around until they see it Run and Hit and Throw.
For now, Michael Conforto is a fifth outfielder with very few at bats.
He has not produced better than Lagares when there is a lefty on the mound so Lagares will get the starts to rest Bruce and Granderson. The rare rest of Cespedes would get him a start every three weeks. He has no first base experience and Duda/Flores should be a productive platoon anyway. Conforto only has himself to blame for his predicament. Had he played well last summer there would never have been a need to trade for Bruce to jump start the offense. I am a Conforto fan and believe he will be a very good outfielder but now he is stuck due to circumstances. These things find a way to work themselves but until then Michael belongs in AAA in order to stay sharp.
He hit .422 while in Vegas last season.
The blame belongs with the organizational strategy, not on Michael Conforto.
Yes, he struggled last season. But use your eyes, use your head, what do you believe?
When people talk about Bruce, they tend to resort to the old counting numbers, 25-90. Okay, fine, maybe. But a very low OBP and rapidly declining defense and no speed — an absolute posterboy for all the team’s failings last season. Homers and little else. He’s a mistake.
He was a mistake when Sandy wanted him in 2015; fortunately, he failed that pursuit and we got Cespedes instead.
He was a mistake in 2016, but a defensible one, because the team was in trouble offensively. Conforto was beginning to come around, but getting Bruce ended that.
And now he’s a mistake all over again. And at $13 million, he’s clearly overpaid.
A non-athlete. A guy who failed utterly, massively, under the bright lights when the games really mattered.
He’s a Brewer.
And a LH-batter to boot. At a time when the team adds Lucas Duda to the offensive mix.
Could he end up having a strong year? Yes, it’s possible. Could the Mets win despite him? Very possibly. But I think it’s a horrible plan and a terrible squandering of resources.
My first prediction of the year: The boos will be raining down on his head in late April.
I’m with Metsense.
Overall, I’m not worried about the OF situation – it will work itself out one way or the other. I’m much more concerned about the bullpen, specifically because of the way this regime utilizes its relievers. Josh Smoker seems destined to be the next Alex Torres and who knows if Josh Edgin is healthy enough to last a whole season.
As for Conforto, I’ve been lectured so many times by so many people about how we can’t trust youngsters and we shouldn’t give them the benefit of the doubt and how much more reliable that veterans are and we’re trying to win right now because one game here could make the difference in making the playoffs and we can’t punt away games to develop a guy in the majors. And here we have a guy in Bruce who has posted an .800 or better OPS in five of the past seven seasons in the majors and has a history of performing better in the first half of the season than after the AS break yet it’s a mistake to play him in April?!?
I like Conforto and I’m glad he’s on the Mets. But if I was the one who was leading his bandwagon and then he went out and hit .174 with a sub .600 OPS over his last 262 PA — while having the platoon advantage the overwhelming amount of time — the mocking and the smirking would be out of control. I would be accused of ignoring facts or employing mental gymnastics or a host of other put downs.
For the record, I’m rooting for Conforto and I’ll be thrilled if and when he hits for a full season in the majors something resembling like he did in August of 2015 or April of 2016. I believe that his history of performance in the minors shouldn’t be thrown out just because he struggled in his first year of being given the full-time job. I just hope that the people who are so invested in his success will recognize that success in the majors for any prospect can’t come if you aren’t given a consistent opportunity.
I completely agree with you and Metsense. I just dont see the OF as that big a deal. Bruce is a 25/100 guy that you can put in the books, notwithstanding his post trade production, which clearly was difficult after having been a Red all his career.
I also love the upside of Conforto. But he has a downside that weve seen and its rough. Hes not Kyle Schwarber or Kris Bryant. He will get his time in RF soon enough, until then, theres no shame in learning the position better and adding to his skills set. I expect he will have a nice ride in Orange and Blue.
Trading for Bruce?…. I hate it, but I get it. Re-signing both Bruce and Walker was all about “Maximizing Transactions”– they wanted to trade Bruce, and they wanted a comp pick for Walker. They also love their short time commitments.
My personal Hot Stove was that Bruce and Walker were $31 Million Bucks— btw, add Duda and you’d be at about $40 million—– that’s a good purse for what the team needs.
Anticipate the same folly next year…. Duda.
Just to be clear, beating this dead horse, I think that some people are looking at this in a very limited way. They are looking at who the Mets have under contract and saying, okay, fine, we’ll go with Bruce over Conforto.
But no move is made in isolation.
I believe that the real decision-making was before Bruce was under contract. Okay, there’s $13 million. And there’s Conforto, and there’s Nimmo too.
Backup catcher never got upgraded. The pen isn’t the asset I’d like it to be. And there may have been a cheaper, more useful outfielder out there who could have played a valuable role for a lot less money. De Aza just signed a minor league deal — not to focus on him as the guy, because he’s not, but another bat/glove in the OF mix certainly could have been had. Maybe a super-utility guy who could have played infield and outfield. I also don’t really believe in Curtis as a 75% of the time CFer. Very possible he breaks down, wears down out there.
I agree that it’s not a big “problem,” it’s just a waste of money on an overpaid lumbering guy who doesn’t get on base and doesn’t move well. I don’t think he filled a need the way other, alternative moves could have. Resources squandered.
As a solitary figure, a lump on a table, sure, there’s nothing really terrible about Jay Bruce, assuming he can get over his fear of NYC.