Jay Bruce may be on the outside looking in as far as a roster spot is concerned, but the Yankee outfielder dropped another piece of evidence to support his case for a major-league uniform.
The 33-year-old drilled a home run to deep center field during Saturday’s spring training game against the Pirates, which came just days after he banged a double off the wall against the Blue Jays. Bruce is now 4-for-6 in his small sample size with the Yanks, but he believes he is worthy of lining up along the first base line with the Bombers on Opening Day.
“I know that I’m good enough to be on the roster,” Bruce said. “There’s no questions with me personally about that in my opinion.”
General manager Brian Cashman spoke on Bruce and fellow veteran newcomer Derek Dietrich, and how the two are going to make for tough decisions as the regular season draws closer. The Yankees have outfield depth in the form of Brett Gardner and Mike Tauchman, but if Bruce continues to hit like he has so far, and shows that he’s capable of returning to the 26-homer man that he was in 2019 (a mark he reached in just 98 games), he could force Cashman and Aaron Boone to make those difficult choices.
“It goes back to health, and also, a lot of times it depends on how they want to shape the roster and what they want form a defensive standpoint and from just a player standpoint,” Bruce said. “I’m not really concerning myself with a lot of that.
Like I said…if I’m healthy, I’m a good option.”
Bruce has appeared in less than 100 games in each of the past three seasons, only appearing in 32 of the 60 games in last year’s shortened season, and while he can’t prove his ability to stay healthy through a 162-game season in just a few weeks of spring training, he can prove that his bat still carries some home-run power, and Saturday’s solo shot is a good place to start.
“In spring training I’m really focused on my decision making and the direction on my swing path and stuff like that,” Bruce said. “It’s all been going well so far. I got into a good count and didn’t foul it off, and I think that’s a big step in spring training.”
Bruce showed off some more quality contact when he ripped a line drive to third later in Saturday’s game, and while it was snagged by a well-positioned Todd Frazier, it was another good swing that will likely cause the Yankees to give the 13-year veteran continued looks in the coming weeks.
For Bruce, it’s just a matter of being physically able to seize those opportunities. So far, so good.
“I feel good,” Bruce said. “I feel like if I am healthy, there’s not really a question of whether or not I can help on any team.”
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