PHILADELPHIA — Jay Bruce plays for the Phillies, but that doesn’t mean he wants his former team within the NL East to suffer.

The veteran outfielder indicated Tuesday he’s empathetic toward the Mets, who traded him to the Mariners last offseason as part of a roster refurbishment.

“It’s tough when you have a lot of expectations like the Mets and it seems like the team feels they went out and did what they thought was necessary in order to put a winning product on the field this year,” Bruce said before the Mets fell to the Phillies 7-5 at Citizens Bank Park. “They really wanted to move the needle when it came to that and it hasn’t panned out the way they wanted so far.

“It hasn’t gone how they want it over there for sure. I still talk to some guys over there and have some great relationships with some people so I wish them the best. I don’t have any hard feelings about it at all.”

Bruce pointed to injuries that have sidelined Jed Lowrie, Brandon Nimmo, Jeurys Familia and Justin Wilson, among others, but acknowledged most teams deal with such setbacks.

And one of the players the Mets acquired for Bruce in the deal, 36-year-old Robinson Cano, has been among the team’s biggest disappointments. The Mets also obtained Edwin Diaz in the trade, but parted with stud prospect Jarred Kelenic, among others.

Bruce, who was traded to the Phillies earlier this month, entered play with a solid .863 OPS for the season, but also understands he might not have been a great fit for the Mets, with whom he spent much of last season on the injured list.

“I felt like I could have been on the [trade] block just due to the plethora of hitter profiles: [Michael] Conforto, Nimmo and me,” said Bruce, who went 1-for-4 with an RBI groundout on Tuesday night. “They wanted to get [Pete] Alonso in there and they had Dom Smith. Honestly, had I been healthy last year it probably would have been harder for them to do it. I think that is my biggest thing. I wish I would have been healthy, because it wasn’t due to lack of ability.”

Bruce was asked about Kelenic, a 19-year-old outfielder who was recently promoted to High-A within the Mariners system.

“They really like him over there,” Bruce said. “He’s got every tool that you need to be a good player, that’s for sure. He’s having a real good year in the minor leagues. He’s going to push himself and it sounds like he has all the makings of what they are looking for.”