Jay Bruce has been having a pretty good season in his second year back from knee surgery and it’s no surprise that teams are interested in trading for him. Last year, the Mets almost snagged him before the Reds got “cold feet,” and this year, the Blue Jays almost pulled the lever just before spring training began. Most recently, however, it was the Royals who had rumors flying around the internet. Said rumors have died down a bit, but that hasn’t stopped fans from speculating. In fact, the rumors are almost guaranteed to return considering the Royals just lost third baseman Mike Moustakas for the season to an ACL injury. Here’s why the Reds should not hesitate to complete a deal if another team thinks Jay Bruce is worth trading for now.

Bruce’s value might not get better.

Jay Bruce was having a pretty good 2015 following the knee surgery that ended his 2014 campaign. Unfortunately, after the previously mentioned trade to the Mets fell through, his 2015 stats fell through as well. That is, they fell through the cellar door. More fortunately though, Bruce’s 2016 has been miles better, despite defense that might leave plenty to be desired. He’s got an OPS of .810 and his BABIP is in line with his career average which means Bruce’s current raw numbers are legitimate, relative to luck. If a team is willing to trade for Jay Bruce right now, it means they likely see how well Jay Bruce could fit in for them. It is either that or they are desperate enough to overlook his current defensive deficiencies (Bruce showing an ability to play first base, albeit poorly, and batting DH is why this might make sense) and his potential inconsistencies (something the Mets were reportedly unable to do). However, more outfielders are bound to get put on the market the closer it gets to the trade deadline and that will decrease his value greatly, especially in the eyes of teams that have a need for him now, but might not be able to convince the Reds to part with him soon enough. This is a big deal because…

Some teams are really desperate for a power hitter.

The Royals can seemingly plug in Cheslor Cuthbert and lose little to nothing in the way of defense, but Mike Moustakas’ power has been a galvanizing force in the middle of that world champion lineup that is hard to replace. A good start, though, would be to plug Bruce into their already extremely effective (defensively speaking) outfield. The Reds learned last year that the Royals are willing to part with top prospects for a superstar like Johnny Cueto. Bruce might not land a deal like that, but he could return at least one promising prospect. One need not look any further than the deal that sent Carlos Gomez (stats-wise, a very similar player to Bruce) to the Astros for Domingo Santana and three other prospects for an idea of what the Reds could aspire to. If not the Royals, then it’s possible the Rangers would be willing to bring the Texas native home considering Josh Hamilton’s season-ending injury and the under-performance of hitters like Mitch Moreland. And it is still likely that the Orioles (long rumored to have interest, by the way) and Blue Jays might covet Bruce as well, despite not being as desperate. The point, though, is that the teams that are desperate might be really desperate and it might only last for a little bit.

The Reds are not going to get better.

The Reds probably are not going to have a fire-sale like they did last year, but they likely want to clear the team of soon-to-be free agents if that’s at all possible. They are also not going to contend, despite whatever illusions may have been inspired by their hot start in the first couple weeks of the season. Bruce has stated his desire to remain with the Reds for his entire career, but how much longer will he be able to stand the losing, especially if an opportunity to play in his home state of Texas (where he still resides) hypothetically comes along? From the perspective of the Reds, it’s not clear why keeping Bruce on the roster would benefit them more than trading him (in the right deal, of course). It is true that in any trade, the Reds would have to eat a significant portion of his contract, but this is a small price to pay for the potential that a Jay Bruce deal would bring. It would not be like a hypothetical Joey Votto trade, in which the amount of contract money they would have to eat would equal the GDP of a small nation. And it shouldn’t hurt proposed trades that Bruce’s contract is relatively team-friendly.

Regardless of any of this, it remains to be seen whether the Reds actually will trade Jay Bruce. After all, most of these rumors are just that and actual talks (few that there were) have so far not gone past teams reviewing medical records. But should the opportunity present itself, the Reds would be smart not to waste it, at least if the deal equals something like the Carlos Gomez trade.

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