Opinion: Trading Bruce Now Bad for Cincinnati Reds

If you’ve been paying attention to Cincinnati Reds news recently, then you know the Reds tried to trade Jay Bruce in a three-way trade with the Blue Jays and the Angels that would’ve sent Bruce to Toronto. According to a tweet from FOX baseball reporter Ken Rosenthal, the trade fell through for a number of reasons, one of them being a bad medical report for a Blue Jays minor league player.

One thing that Monday’s news did do though: it let everyone in the baseball world know that the Reds are actively shopping Bruce now instead of waiting until the trade deadline in July. There are two reasons why this is a bad move. First, Bruce’s trade value is very low right now and that’s because of the last two months of 2015.

In 2015, Bruce hit .226/.294/.434, with 26 HR, 35 doubles and 87 RBI. His strikeout total of 145 was his lowest since 2010. However, the reason his batting average dipped so low is because of the way he hit in August and September. On August 4 last year, Bruce was hitting .260/.341/.492. From that point, Bruce went on to hit just .150 in August with only 17 hits, including just two home runs. September was better, but not by much. He hit .205 with 24 hits and seemed to find his power again, with seven home runs.

Keeping Bruce until July is a risk the Reds would be taking, but it’s not a huge risk and the reward would be greater if it pays off. If they don’t trade Bruce and he can replicate last year’s first half in 2016, his trade stock will go up immensely and the Reds will be able to get a lot more for him. If Bruce does not have a good first half of 2016, the Reds can still get what they probably were going to get in the potential trade with Toronto.

The second reason Bruce should stay in Cincinnati until the trade deadline is his veteran presence and his attitude toward the trade rumors. Some might discount this because it’s one of those “intangibles” and does not mean as much as younger players getting experience at the major league level. But leadership truly does matter, even if it’s a player who has only been in the league a couple more years than the players coming up for the first time.

When Bruce arrived in Goodyear on Sunday, his attitude was one befitting a player who will be looked upon as a leader if indeed he makes it to Opening Day with the Reds, the club he’s been with his entire career. In an article written by C. Trent Rosecrans of the Cincinnati Enquirer, Bruce said all the right things about the trade rumors: that he understands baseball is a business and if the Reds feel he needs to be traded, he will understand.

The younger players need someone like this as an example. Someone to show them that it’s okay if they were to get traded. It might be a disappointment to go to another team, but all they can do is work on their game to get better and be the best they can. I truly believe that Bruce is doing that despite swirling trade rumors. Scoff at it if you must, but if Bruce (and Joey Votto and Brandon Phillips) can show the younger players how to be a major-leaguer just like Scott Rolen did for them, the Reds will be a better team in the long run.

There is much riding on the ability of Bruce to have a good season. He needs to have play well for himself personally and for his own confidence. The Reds need him to play well in order to get the most in a trade. For now, Bruce will continue to get ready for 2016 and control what he can control. In the meantime, it helps the Reds to have Bruce as one of the veteran presences in a clubhouse full of young players.