Jay Bruce's Hot Start With the Phillies Proves They Made the Right Call by Trading for Him
By Zack Jiang
No Andrew McCutchen, no problem.
Jay Bruce was acquired by the Philadelphia Phillies from the Seattle Mariners on Sunday as added depth. However, once McCutchen went down with a season-ending torn ACL on Monday, Bruce moved into the starting lineup. In just a few games, Bruce has already proven to be the perfect replacement.
Jay Bruce homers again. That's two doubles and three home runs in his first two starts with the #Phillies. He cuts the Padres lead to 4-2.
— Todd Zolecki (@ToddZolecki) June 5, 2019
In his three games for the Phillies, Bruce has crushed three homers, including a grand slam, to go with 8 RBI. His added power has helped the team win two in a row and end a streak of five straight losses. The 32-year-old slugger now has 16 home runs for the season already surpassing last year's total of 9.
Bruce's resurgence comes at a perfect time for the Phillies are desperately hanging on to their one-game lead in the NL East division. Fans are already comparing him to another Philly folk hero, Nick Foles.
Could Jay Bruce be our Nick Foles?
— Justin Lever ??⚾️ (@JustinLever2) June 5, 2019
Starting LF goes down for the year, and in comes Jay Bruce to the rescue? ????♂️ pic.twitter.com/LBjfxuBZu0
Bruce will certainly cool down from his current hot streak, but so far he has proved to be not just an replacement, but an upgrade. The veteran might not be much of a defensive asset anymore, but at the very least he has shown he can be an offensive spark for the team.