Jay Bruce Has Leaped from 2016 Disaster into 2017 Pennant Race Game-Changer

Last season, after being dealt at the non-waiver trade deadline to the New York Mets, Jay Bruce was no better than a nameless replacement player. Now, he's a key cog for the defending American League champion Cleveland Indians.

What a difference a year makes.

That replacement player talk wasn't hyperbole. Bruce—a three-time All-Star and two-time top-10 MVP finisher with the Cincinnati Reds—posted exactly 0.0 WAR for the Mets in 2016, according to Baseball Reference's calculation. 

That means, for all intents and purposes, the Mets could have called up or acquired any random scrub and gotten the same value.

Instead, they paid about $4.3 million of Bruce's $12.5 million salary, per MLB Trade Rumors, and picked up his $13 million option for 2017.

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A rash of injuries, particularly to the pitching staff, derailed New York's chances this season. Bruce lasted past the non-waiver deadline, but the Mets ended up shipping him to Cleveland for right-hander and 2016 30th-round pick Ryder Ryan plus a little financial relief.

Bruce has gone hitless in his last four games with Cleveland. Still, he's clubbed four home runs and five doubles and driven in 13 runs in 19 games with the Tribe. His .893 OPS with the Indians ranks third on the club and his .529 slugging percentage ranks second.

By any measure, his bat has been a difference-maker.

Jamie Squire/Getty Images

"I just feel like I added to an already good lineup," said Bruce, per Dave Skretta of the Associated Press (h/t the Akron Beacon Journal). "But these guys were already good before I got here."

That's a magnanimous—not to mention accurate—statement. The Indians rank fifth in the AL in runs scored and second in OPS. They weren't exactly floundering at the plate before Bruce arrived.

Cleveland has, however, been struggling all season to gain separation in the AL Central. While the Indians appear to be pulling away from the upstart Minnesota Twins and 2015 champion Kansas City Royals, it's been a bumpier-than-expected road.

Since Bruce debuted with the Indians on August 10, they've gone 16-5. Even accounting for the nebulous relationship between correlation and causation, that feels like it means something.

"It gives you a little bounce in your step when you add a player like him," Cleveland skipper Terry Francona said, per John Perrotto of FanRag Sports. "He is a really good run producer. Adding him to our lineup has really helped. He's been everything we thought he would be."

At 30 years old and in a contract year, Bruce has elevated his hard-contact rate to 41.2 percent this season, compared to a career mark of 35.3 percent, per FanGraphs. 

The sample isn't big enough to draw far-reaching conclusions, and much of that came with New York, but it's possible Bruce is benefiting from the protection of hitters such as Jose Ramirez, Francisco Lindor, Edwin Encarnacion and Carlos Santana since arriving in the Rock'n'Roll capital.

Jamie Squire/Getty Images

There's precedent for Bruce being a top-shelf major league hitter. He's eclipsed 20 home runs in nine of his 10 big league seasons. Even in today's homer-happy climate, that's an impressive "special skills" note on the ol' resume.

Once Indians All-Star Michael Brantley works his way back from an ankle injury, he'll join a crowded outfield that includes Bruce, Bradley Zimmer, Austin Jackson and Brandon Guyer.

There's no telling what next season holds for Bruce. He's open to a reunion with the Mets, as he told Dan Martin of the New York Post.  

For now, he's helping the Indians push toward another AL Central crown and increasing their odds of besting the Boston Red Sox and Houston Astros for Junior Circuit supremacy. Then there's the matter of busting baseball's longest active title drought.

A year after fizzling as a trade-deadline dud, Bruce is making the most of this summer's swap.

Remember that 0.0 WAR he posted with the Mets in 2016? That came in 50 games. In his first 18 games with Cleveland, Bruce's WAR stood at 0.7. 

That might seem insignificant on the surface, but not if you understand advanced metrics or if you've been watching Bruce ply his trade in an Indians uniform.

By the numbers or the eyeball test, it's obvious what a difference a year makes. 

All statistics current as of Wednesday and courtesy of Baseball Reference unless otherwise noted.