MLB Trade Rumors 2016: Reds, Blue Jays Jay Bruce Trade Hits a Wall
Three MLB teams — the Toronto Blue Jays, Cincinnati Reds, and the Los Angeles Angels were involved in a trade proposal that would have sent slugger Jay Bruce from the Reds to the Blue Jays, while the Angels would get outfielder Michael Saunders from Toronto, and finally the Reds acquiring two second-tier prospects from the Angels and Blue Jays.
But multiple sources claim that the proposed deal has been hit with uncertainty after one of the players involved did not get a medical clearance after a review from team doctors. As of this writing, the teams involved or any official representative has not provided any details or additional information as to who that player is and if everyone's moving on.
Bruce, for his part, talked to several reporters at the start of the Reds spring training camp in Arizona last Tuesday and revealed that he too is just patiently waiting for management to resolve the issue the soonest possible time, though he admitted that the delay is just becoming an unwanted distraction in training camp. "I'm reading the same stuff everybody is putting out there," he said, referring to the trade fiasco that's affecting him and all other players involved.
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There is great probability that the cause of the delay is Saunders, who everyone knows had a recurring knee problem. He only played a total of nine games for Toronto last season because of the pain he had in his left knee.
As the centerpiece of this trade, the 28-year-old Bruce avoided arbitration with the Reds in 2010 by agreeing to a six-year contract, which means he already entering his last year of that same contract. The team holds an option for him in 2017, but they're not really looking into that when the contract expires this season.
The trade sending him to Toronto couldn't have been allowed without prior approval if not for him removing the Blue Jays from his no-trade clause late last year. To date, his contract stipulates that he can block trades involving several teams, but not the Blue Jays.
