MLB Roundup 1/11: Jay Bruce is off the board

Jay Bruce signs with the Mets

Yesterday was the first mildly exciting day in the baseball world, and it all came together at the end of the night when outfielder Jay Bruce signed a three-year, $39 million deal with the Mets. That is a lot less than I thought he was going to get, which will mean one of two things. One is that J.D. Martinez will come to the Red Sox for cheaper than we expected, with this deal being an example of a market for a similar — albeit lesser — player. Two is that Boston will be outbid for Martinez and then kick themselves for only focusing on him while their backup plans go off the board for relatively small deals. Bruce has been a solid power hitter for years now and entered the offseason expecting a five-year deal. I always felt that was a longshot, but two cut two years off that while also only getting a $13 million AAV confirms that this market is not at all player-friendly. Hopefully, of the two scenarios above, we’ll be looking at scenario one here in Boston.

• Yesterday was particularly wild from a rumor standpoint, though in the end it didn’t come to fruition. At one point in the afternoon there were reports that a trade was imminent that would send Gerrit Cole to Houston. The terms of said deal were never released, but instead the deal was denied. Cole may not be an Astro, but it’s pretty clear the Pirates want to trade him soon.
• We could also be close to a Yu Darvish signing, as reports indicate that the ace has six teams interested in him and he’s making a choice between them. The teams we know about are the Rangers, Astros, Cubs, Twins and Yankees. According to Darvish himself there is one more team involved. Could it be the Red Sox? Probably not!