Reds’ Homer Bailey thinks Mets won the Jay Bruce trade

Previous year there was some insane stuff during the deadline. “I can tell you, having talked with people on other teams, they think Herrera is a legitimate, big-time player”, Olney said.

Wotell now ranks 22nd on the Reds’ list of top prospects, according to MLB Pipeline.

NY had long considered trying to acquire Bruce.

Herrera, 22, batted.215 over 49 big league games in 2014-15. In fact, it went down to -0.3 this year.

Bottomline is the Mets find themselves in a similar place as a year ago, with solid pitching and a struggling offense. The young lefty is 3-1 this season with a 3.94 ERA in rookie ball. In limited playing time he has just four hits in 29 plate appearances. With a 4 ½ game lead in the AL central and flexibility (credited to outfielder Michael Brantley’s injury status), Cleveland may be the safest bet for Bruce. His.875 OPS is a career-high, topping his.846 in 2010. They also had the framework of a three-team deal in place that would’ve sent Bruce to Toronto in the offseason, but that fell through.

Bruce, who has a team option on his contract at $13 million for next season, will be insurance in the outfield in case Cespedes decides to sign elsewhere after this season.

Cespedes will be one of, if not, the premier free agents this upcoming winter. In the midst of a rebuilding project, it made little sense for the Reds to keep the popular outfielder or chance losing him in ’18 with nothing in return. They are 2.5 games back of the Miami Marlins for the 2nd wild card spot and they are 6 games back of the Washington Nationals for the NL East. And the Mets needed a bat.

The Mets need an offensive boost as they rank last in Major League Baseball in batting average with runners in scoring position at.206. Bruce alone is hitting.360 with RISP. He is the first player to be traded in the middle of the season while leading the league in RBI.

“He’s been a run producer”, Alderson said. Hererra is a solid player who is now batting.276/.327/.462 with 13 homers, 24 doubles, and 55 RBI and will be the next starting second baseman at AAA Louisville for the Reds due to Brandon Phillips owning the spot at the big league level. Winker is hitting.286 for AAA Louisville, but he only has two homers in 306 at bats.

Some of the Reds players, Homer Bailey included, were not happy with this decision. He was named the International League’s Player of the Month for July.

Bruce, who had worn uniform #32 with the Reds, will switch to #19 with the Mets; Steven Matz has a stranglehold on #32 already.

Notes: The Mets recalled infielder Ty Kelly and left-hander Josh Edgin from Las Vegas, and they optioned outfielder Brandon Nimmo and right-hander Seth Lugo to the Triple-A team. I say reportedly, because this is the third time that Bruce has been close to being dealt over the past year.

By the way, the Mets visit Great American Ball Park to play the Reds on September 5-7.