Jay Bruce was dropped down to the nine hole in the Yankees’ loss to the Rays on Saturday, and his struggles persisted, going 0-for-3 with two strikeouts to continue his slow start to the season.
Bruce, who was added to the roster after he opted out late in spring training, has become the everyday first baseman while Luke Voit continues to rehab after suffering a partial meniscus tear, but the offensive numbers haven’t been there to start the season. It’s a small sample size of just eight games, but he is batting .111 with a .472 OPS to begin the year, and has struck out multiple times in four of those seven games, including each of the last three.
“I thought the first three or four games, I saw a lot of really good at-bats,” Aaron Boone said on Saturday. “The last couple games he struggled a little bit, but that’s gonna happen throughout the season. You’re gonna have a couple games where you’re a little off.”
The 36-year-old has struggled in recent seasons before his pinstriped debut, slashing .198/.252/.469 last season while batting below .225 in 2018 and 2019. So far in his quest to make up for the loss of Voit, last year’s MLB home run leader, Bruce has struggled badly, especially over the past week.
“It’s such a small sample so far,” Boone said. “The first four or five games in I thought there were a lot of quality at-bats, working some walks and working some deep counts. He obviously had a big home run for us in a victory.”
Since that home run, Bruce has gone 0-for-12 with six strikeouts, and the team does have a more natural first baseman in Mike Ford on the 40-man roster, but for now, it looks like the team is sticking with Bruce, at least until Voit is able to make his return.
“The last couple games haven’t been quite as good, but looking forward to him turning that around,” Boone said. “I think he’s done a lot of good things defensively and I think he has some natural movements over there…but obviously there’s still room for growth there. He’s one of those guys we have to get rolling at the plate too.”
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