Cleveland Indians acquire Jay Bruce for class-A righty

In an effort to bolster their already deep but banged up outfield, the Indians have acquired Jay Bruce from the Mets.

As first broken by Fox’s Ken Rosenthal, the Cleveland Indians have acquired now former New York Mets outfielder Jay Bruce.

This is a huge get for the Tribe because it serves as a seamless short-term plug into left field as outfielder Michael Brantley just went back on the 10-day disabled list with a sprained ankle. It also adds depth to the roster as October rolls around.

Bruce is hitting .258 with 29 home runs and 75 RBI, both of which are more than any player on the Indians. The Indians outfield as a whole has lacked any kind of consistent power threat all season, posting just 37 combined home runs throughout, so adding Bruce’s pop was a necessity as the Tribe look to roll through the Central and back into a pennant race.

Per Joel Sherman, The Mets received Class-A RHP Ryder Ryan and dumped the remaining $5 million left on Bruce’s contract on the Indians. Sherman also tweeted that the Mets had initially been in contact with the Yankees, who were offering more prospects, but because the Yankees refused to eat all of Bruce’s salary, the Mets went the other way.

The Indians gave up next to nothing and snagged a veteran player who does nothing but rake at Progressive Field. In 23 games in Cleveland, Bruce is hitting .384 with an OBP of .438 and an OPS at 1.031. All of these numbers are the highest of any ballpark with at least 10 games played in for Bruce, so his return to Ohio should be smooth sailing.

Next: Austin Jackson goes full Jeter in the outfield

On the flip side, this is a terrible deal for the Mets who really should’ve dug deeper with the Yankees. The Mets being cheap likely cost them a solid deal in the long run.