SAN FRANCISCO -- It would have been superhuman for Jay Bruce to replicate what Yoenis Cespedes did a year ago upon being acquired by the New York Mets at the nonwaiver trade deadline.
Still, Bruce is not even replicating what he did with the Cincinnati Reds before being obtained on Aug. 1 for second baseman Dilson Herrera and 19-year-old left-hander Max Wotell.
Bruce is hitting .176 with 2 home runs and 6 RBIs in 17 games since joining the Mets. And as the Mets fade from wild-card contention, manager Terry Collins has Bruce out of the starting lineup on Saturday against the San Francisco Giants. The hope is that Bruce uses the day to clear his head and regroup.
“It’s been really frustrating,” Bruce said. “As a Major League Baseball player, a guy who really, truly believes I can make an impact -- and I have for a long time -- to come over here and not contribute much has been frustrating so far. But we have 40 games left.”
A year ago, Cespedes hit .287 with 17 homers and 44 RBIs in 230 at-bats after joining the Mets from the Detroit Tigers. That helped the Mets become the first team in MLB history to reach the World Series after ranking last in the majors in runs scored on July 31.
This year, the Mets (60-62) are sliding into irrelevancy in August. They have lost 16 of their past 23 games and enter Saturday having dropped 5½ games behind the St. Louis Cardinals for the second wild-card spot.
Bruce and Cespedes have only been in the starting lineup twice together. Cespedes just returned Friday after a DL stint for a strained right quadriceps.
Despite his struggles since the trade, Bruce still ranks fourth in the National League in home runs (27) and RBIs (86) this season when combining his Reds and Mets totals. The Mets hold a team option for next season at $13 million, so he will be with the club in 2017, too.
“The most pressure I put on myself is from myself,” Bruce said. “I expect a high level of execution. I expect to be an impact player and to contribute. I haven’t done that a whole lot since I’ve been here. It’s one of those things. It’s baseball. It’s a long season. I prepare the same exact way every single day -- mentally, physically, drills, on and off the field. It’s something I take a lot of pride in. This is how it goes. So I’m going to continue to prepare, continue to be ready, and I’ll be ready when I’m called upon.”
