The Yankees have agreed to a minor league deal with veteran outfielder Jay Bruce, The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal reports (Twitter links). Bruce will earn a $1.35MM guarantee for reaching the big league roster, plus additional $50K bonuses that will unlock if he receives at least 400 plate appearances.
A three-time All-Star from his days with the Reds, Bruce was something of a power-first hitter even in his prime, but has become even more of a homer-centric bat in recent years. Bruce hit 36 home runs with the Mets in 2017 and 26 home runs in a 2019 season split between the Mariners and Phillies, but he has an overall slash line of .233/.301/.474 over 1414 PA since the start of the 2017 season. In 2020, Bruce hit .198/.252/.469 with six homers in 103 PA for Philadelphia while battling quad injuries for much of the season.
At the cost of just a Spring Training invite and potentially a modest $1.3MM salary, there isn’t much risk for the Yankees in seeing if Bruce can still contribute as he approaches his 34th birthday. The short porch in right field at Yankee Stadium is certainly inviting for a left-handed power bat, and Bruce’s chances of making the team are helped by the lack of left-handed hitters on the roster. Bruce can also offer some positional versatility off the bench, capable of playing first base or either corner outfield spot.
As Rosenthal noted in a follow-up tweet, adding Bruce “does not preclude [the] Yankees from re-signing Brett Gardner.” Recent reports indicated that the Yankees hadn’t had any talks with their longtime outfielder this winter, despite the general assumption that Gardner would eventually re-sign for his 14th season in the pinstripes. While Bruce lacks Gardner’s center field capability, New York now has a left-handed hitting outfielder in camp as depth in case a deal can’t be reached with Gardner. If Bruce impresses during Spring Training, the Yankees could ultimately decide that spending $1.3MM for Bruce is preferable to spending even a modest amount more in guaranteed money to bring Gardner back into the fold.
Not a bad insurance option considering they can’t really rely on a lot of their OF options to stay off the IL.
Was a good player for Phillies, appeared to always give his all.
Yeah, I was always happy to have him on the team. Seems like a true professional. Sad to see him go tbh
If it was a decision between Brad Miller and Bruce, Miller wins hands down.
If the Yanks didn’t have a brittle like stemware player in Stanton, Ford would be great as the primary lefty DH. But with Stanton one lunge or slide from six weeks on the I L, he can’t play the field. #CashmansBiggestMistake
But I guess they didn’t think that way because Stanton has been injured plenty and yet they didn’t use Ford as the primary LH DH.
Hater whose your team?
Is he better than Ford at this point?
A little more power and defensive versatility but he isn’t be signed for his OF defense
It’s a minor league deal. with an invite to ST. The only way he gets on the team out of ST is if he shows himself to be better than what they already have, or if a lot of them get injured.
Just FYI – I believe Ford is backup 1st baseman.
Yes but Bruce also plays First Base
“plays”
Boone has shown a preference for younger players during his Yankees tenure. If it’s a choice between Ford and Bruce, Ford gets the nod. He will be Boone’s choice and he is on the 40 so he will be Cashman’s as well. If Girardi was still managing the team Bruce would be comfortable knowing he would be the choice. Girardi seemed to prefer an older more mature locker room and that was his downfall when Cashman wanted to pretend he was a small market GM and lean solely on his farm and use veterans as stopgaps. All those trades and promising prospects amounted to nothing but more trades and long frequent IL trips for those prospects. Looks like Sheffield the one good prospect Cashman was willing to part with has turned into the exact pitcher Cashman is trying to buy. He should have kept Didi and traded Torres. Probably should have sold high on Sanchez and protected Torrens from the rule 5 draft as well. Sanchez was a major headache his entire tenure in the minors and Cashman thought he would be different in MLB.
He still hits bombs. Gets injured a lot though. Perfect for Yankee stadium tbh.
A much needed left hand bat who can play a little OF & 1B. He’s only 33 so a bench reserve worth taking a low cost gamble on.
Does Ford still have minor league options?
Yes, but why waste them to play a washed up Jay Bruce? Bruce is an insurance piece, a depth option, that’s all.
Spring training will decide that.
Because Ford only plays first. Don’t really want a 1B only on the bench.
Ford will start in the minors regardless. Baring and injury or trade the 13 position players opening day are:
Sanchez
Voit
DJ
Torres
Urshela
Frazier
Hicks
Judge
Stanton
Higashioka
Tauchman (out of options)
Greg Allen (out of options)
And most likely Wade (for speed and an infield glove)
Without an injury or trade there is no room for Andujar, Ford, or Bruce.
Without an injury? You realize we are talking about the Yankees, right?
And, this assumes that the Yankees will carry 13 position players. It’s more likely that they’ll carry 12 position players and 14 pitchers for most of the year. This is because of the concern for pitchers’ workloads in 2021.
Can’t.
Against the rules.
When the 26th man was added to rosters one of the stipulations was teams can only carry 13 pitchers maximum.
Ducky.. That rule has been suspended for this year because of the pitcher workload concerns.
Thank you for the correction, @Joe says.
That would make sense. I must have missed that.
Lord…so the Yanks may indeed carry 14(!) pitchers.
Huh.
A club on track to win 87 games and fall short of the playoffs. And one that’s guaranteed never to face more than ten left handed starters this season .
Tauchman and Allen seem rather redundant on the same roster. I don’t see the need for both on the roster at the same time. It’s not like they sent much to get Allen, they could just DFA him rather than keep em both.
270 obp season coming up
He’ll crush in Yankee stadium.
Exactly what I was thinking.
He hammered plenty of balls out of PNC park. Defensive liability though and a guy of his caliber would be alright in DH role. Had the NL adopted to DH, Bruce would be a commodity to many teams for the bat. Pirates for one that would be on the phone with him since they lack power throughout that lineup. Pirates lineup is the weakest in the whole MLB.
Totally agree. I’ve always liked Bruce. Wish the Pirates would have signed him instead of Goodwin.
See above as to why Bruce won’t DH much if the makes the Yankees roster.
He isn’t the fielder he once was, but he still isn’t bad. He’s not a complete liability, still having a decent DRS and UZR.
Lefty bat. Strong veteran presence. Probably a good clubhouse guy. This probably means no Brett Gardner. It’s hard to keep Gardy on the bench who is a more expensive version and gets in the way of Frazier.
Lol a guy with a lifetime WAR of almost 50 ” gets in the way ” of a guy with a good run of about 40 games….amazing take
Im a fan of Gardy, really want him – but get in the way is the exact sentiment when it comes to veterans making money vs someone with not a lot of mlb experience making a little more than league minimum. That is exactly what “get in the way” means.
There was a tax reset. This must push the team about to the max before the tax kicks back in again.
If there are needs during the season expect a trade. Must be within a few million after the many new signings.
Like it – like the Strawberry move back in the day
That may be a stretch.
Maybe looking at pairing Bruce with Allen as a Gardner replacement. Problem is Bruce really hasn’t been good in about three years. Or maybe they still bring Gardner back and Bruce replaces either Tauchman or Ford off the bench.
Decisions, decisions, decisions. Looking like Bye, bye Gardy. Unless Ford Or Tauchman will be traded somewhere else. But then again the Yanks could always bring Gardy back by mid-season.
Hard to evaluate Tauchman. He had never hit much before 2019, and flailed again in ‘20. So is he a late bloomer, a one year wonder or just an enigma they can’t solve?
i would say a one year wonder as he never showed it before and the balls were juiced in 2019. With them deadening the ball more this season i think Tauch will be even more exposed especially if hicks has another typical injury plagued season.
He has what it takes to be a Yankee legend if they make a deep run. His clutch hits as a Red are something I’ll never forget, was hoping maybe he’d return this year to fill out the OF depth after some trades were made, but apparently the Castellinis just want to tread water and save money.
Not a bad depth move at all.
Good luck, and I hope you get a chance to crack the roster. Thanks for your time as a Phillie!
Insurance against ST injuries. Not worth mulling over ML bench fit. Bruce will likely get MLB at bats this season, but breaking camp with NY is a stretch under normal circumstances.
Doesnt provide any defensive value but still a nice power bat off the bench vs RHP
Why? Bringing back Gardner would’ve been better than this. They just added another DH to a roster full of DHs. Cashman and Hal deserve F grades for this off-season.
You can’t sign a player to a 7/324mil contract every winter
Gardner would have made more sense, more contact, and less strikeout. Yankees have enough power, Jay Bruce will make Yankee Stadium look small though
They said it doesn’t preclude them from getting Gardner, so they are just filling out depth for spring training to see what they have.
The #1 priority was getting under the luxury tax threshold. Hal and Cash achieved it. And it will be 13 years without a World Series appearance. And counting.
We get Bruce Phillies get Gardner. Thanks Cashman! NOT!
Phillies won’t be getting Gardner.
I was thinking the Phillies, Braves, or the White Sox for Gardy
I would be surprised to see Gardner sign anywhere else. He seemed to be a true blue Yankee for 13 years. A fast, intense & competitive player, it would disappoint me if he did..
Um yeah they will.
They’re over crowded with bench outfielders. Gardner is not a fit.
Just get Gardy back already, even if you could replace his defense and OBP with another player he’s still important to the clubhouse. I simply refuse to believe that Gardner wouldn’t take 1 yr for $3-5 mil at age 37 to stay in NY. It’s honestly insulting to not let him play his final year in front of fans at the Stadium
Don’t know what to do about Gardy, man.
Sucks.
Hated seeing Tanaka leave. He & GGBG have been my two favorite players for a few years.
But the front office seems dead set on getting payroll below $210 mil. If the Yanks still have 3-5 MM left I’d rather see that go into middle relief or rotation depth.
Sucks.
But I’ve known baseball was a business ever since the Yankees traded Mickey Rivers & Sparky Lyle.
Lyle cost Danny Cater and got Dave Righetti. Win.
Rivers was purely “financial”. Cost Bonds and got back a Gamble. 😉
Explain that to my 11 year old self who settled on them as my “favorite players”.
Crushing.
But yeah.
I would hope he doesn’t get offered that much, he’s already bought out for 2.5 plus whatever he agrees on, if they ever even make a deal. Don’t need to pay a 4th outfielder to ride the pine until someone gets hurt, especially more than 5mil. Who knows it’s an odd year and they for whatever reason have had decent/good seasons (17’, 19’) with odd years recently.
It sucks for Gardy because the team is set on the luxury tax, doesn’t help after getting eliminated by a team with a quarter of our payroll. He’s 37, Father Time is going to catch him sooner than later. The teams got a surprisingly decent amount of cheap alternatives to go to if he doesn’t come back
Ford AND Taughman are wastes of roster space, id much rather have someone like Bruce. And wtf have we not signed Rosenthal?
Alright.
Well, I guess there’s their LH bat. Not bad. I can see a role for him backing up 1B, the outfield corners, & getting some pinch hitting in.
Decent candidate for that 26th man spot. I’m sure Hal was pretty happy with the price tag, too.
Keep adding, Cashman.
A lefty reliever & D-Rob on a minors deal & this won’t have been a bad off-season, uh?
A big fella like that will hit 80 home runs if he gets a hold of the urshela lemahieu voit sanchez vitamin stash. Gobble gobble mash mash. Here we go!
Not the Sanchez stash. That’s the stuff that turned Tom Tresh into a nothing in ‘66 after four productive seasons. Sanchez is on his way to a DFA at the end of camp.
Gosh, I sure hope so, @whyhaze.
Unlock his true potential. Play hard every day. With added benefits of feeling great & looking excellent.
But probably not “gobbling” them, uh? Too hard on a fella’s liver. One shot/week in the ole right butt cheek outta do it. Or so I’ve heard. I’m closing in on 3K career geese & I’d never do do anything to endanger my legacy – so this is only hearsay you understand.
Can’t wait to see this guy shatter Bonds single season HR record, serious. Keep on juicin’ boys! We got us a World Series to win!
Roger Maris still holds the record in my books. Even though he played for the dreaded yankees, I admire what he put up with and what he accomplished. It’s a shame that he and Aaron were so grossly mistreated by the fans for breaking Babe Ruth’s records. They are both still holding the records in my book.
They could use innings – even if they’re not overly impressive innings. Starter, relievers, someone’s gotta eat them innings.
Every pitching staff, especially one lacking depth and with a history of injury, is looking at a huge in increase in work after last year. Poor performance due to injury and fatigue is bound to happen, right?
Who gets them, the kids, I guess.
Chacin?
Tanaka of course, would have been perfect.
Now,…..they could use some cheap depth.
Yankees keep making good deals. Much better option than Gardner.
Bruce will hit one into orbit every now and then but Gardner is a much tougher out.
I stand corrected. Didn’t realize Bruce’s average was much lower than Gardner’s.
Not bad adding some left handed pop
LHH with power. Wouldn’t be a bad option to rotate at DH, 1B & OF.
Just what the Yankees need an often injured outfielder.
Jay Bruce… just another of the HUNDREDS of free agents who never truly earn their money. The players always run to the bank laughing. Owners remain stupid enough to give these clowns way more than their worth. The crooked system is simply one sided.
Yankees swing and miss rate just increased by another tick
The Yankees offseason has been totally baffling. Jay Bruce??? When Aaron Judge or Stanton get hurt, and we know that both will, Jay Bruce is coming in???? I am now predicting the Tampa Rays will win a mediocre AL East. Toronto Blue Jays with the Yankee’s third.
Yankees seem really cobbled together this year. Lots of ifs. More Wilpon than Steinbrenner. Hopefully the results will be good.
I am surprised that Sandy Alderson resisted the temptation to bring him back a third time.
I like this signing for the Yankees. Bruce gives them a good insurance policy for when (not if) Stanton and/or Judge get injured, the fact he can capably backup Voit is a bonus. Bruce will mash at Yankee Stadium if he makes the team
Id rather have Jay Buhner……Ken Phelps
Bruce is probably replacing Mike Ford on the bench. Still time unfortunately for a Gardy party reunion
Wonder if the Yankees aren’t thinking Gardner too expensive for them (CBT) but would sign with a different team for less than he’d be willing to accept from NY. Gardener was a useful player, it’s likely his price–to the yankees–may be too high given that Cashman may still be shopping. That trade of Ottavino to Boston for salary relief was an eye-opener
I could see him playing a 2010 Pat Burrell type role for the right team down the stretch, maybe that will be the Yankees but I would think they could buy better options if they found themselves in need of power in the outfield come the deadline.
Who’s the backup CF at this point? Gotta be Wade, right?
You know Hicks is gonna be hurt. And although he made great strides last season, I can’t see Frazier as a viable option in center.
Tauchman/Greg Allen.
Why don’t the yanks look at Justin Bour? Huge LH power, solid OBP and agile fielder. Would be a great insurance policy