Mets trade rumors: Jay Bruce clears waivers, no-trade list includes Yankees, Diamondbacks, Rays

Jay Bruce‘s contract includes a no-trade list that consists of the following teams, according to Ken Rosenthal: the Yankees, Phillies, Marlins, Twins, Diamondbacks, Rays, and Jays. Rosenthal also points out—as James Wagner of the Times has—that Bruce would be very likely to approve a trade to a contender. Of the teams on his no-trade list, only the Yankees, Diamondbacks, and Rays fall into that category.

While the Mets dealt Lucas Duda and Addison Reed away before the non-waiver trade deadline, they weren’t able to make moves that sent either Bruce Curtis Granderson—or both—to other teams before then. But Bruce has already cleared waivers, which means the Mets can trade him anytime between now and the end of August.

After struggling mightily in his time with the Mets after they acquired him in the 2016 season, Bruce has been a surprisingly good hitter this year. He’s currently sitting on a .260/.324/.528 line with a pretty good 122 wRC+ and 29 home runs, which puts him among the National League leaders in that category. He’s also been better than expected as a defender in right field, and in the very limited time that he has spent at first base so far, he has at least looked capable.

Given the fact that he’s set to hit free agency after this season and presumably wouldn’t cost a ton to acquire, it would be somewhat surprising some team didn’t trade for him—especially those in the American League, which has a slew of teams within realistic reach of a Wild Card spot and the designated hitter.