Jay Bruce is now in pinstripes after signing a minor league deal with the Yankees earlier this month, but just how close was he to coming to the Yankees in 2017?
The Mets were shopping Bruce at the trade deadline in 2017, when the upstart Yankees were making a playoff push with a youthful roster exceeding expectations. Bruce, who had 29 home runs to his credit by the time trade rumors began swirling, told reporters on Friday just how close a deal came to being completed between the crosstown rivals.
"I definitely remember that period," Bruce said in his first interview with the media since arriving at spring training. "My family had just gotten to town in Philadelphia and we rode the train to New York. I was basically told I was being traded, and my understanding was that I was being traded to the Yankees. It came out a short time after that for some reason that deal was not done and I was going to the Indians."
Indeed, it was Cleveland that grabbed the then 30-year-old, after the Yankees reportedly wanted the Mets to eat some of the money still owed to Bruce, while Cleveland agreed to take on his entire salary. Nevertheless, Bruce was almost in pinstripes four years before he finally became a Yankee.
"That's really all I know as far as the ins and outs of it," Bruce said. "But as far as I know, from my understanding there was an agreement there between the Mets and Yankees, but something happened at the last minute there."
Bruce said he didn't feel any immediate disappointment when he learned a deal to the Yankees had fallen through, especially after learning that he was going to another World Series contender.
"Honestly, I didn't have much of a thought," Bruce said. "I wanted to go somewhere to have an opportunity to win a World Series, and in Cleveland, after the second or third day I got there we went on a 22-game winning streak. So I was extremely happy to be in Cleveland. I would have been extremely excited to be in New York."
The Yankees had been looking for another power bat after Matt Holliday came down with the Epstein-Barr virus, but instead waited for offensive reinforcements like Greg Bird and Starlin Castro to return from injury. They wound up seeing Bruce in the ALDS, and Bruce gave the Yanks a rough reminder of what they could have had, hitting two home runs and posting a 1.000 OPS in 18 at-bats, but the Yankees had the last laugh, coming back from an 0-2 deficit to win the series in Cleveland in game five.
Now, Bruce is with the team he thought he would be joining four years ago.
"I'm happy to finally be on this side of the line here," Bruce said. "I've been on the receiving end of a lot of good Yankee teams over the years, so I'm happy to be on this side."
Follow Ryan Chichester on Twitter: @ryanchichester1
Follow WFAN on Social Media
Twitter | Facebook | Instagram | YouTube | Twitch
