Let me start with a couple of disclaimers. First, I like Jay Bruce, the person. His teammates enjoy him, and it seems like there’s a little more substance to him than the average baseball player. Second, he would have made the 2018 Giants better, at least in comparison to their current roster. It’s not my money, so if the difference is Bruce or Jarrett Parker, heck yeah, load him up.
That written, however, it was very, very easy to see how Bruce was going to be a bad idea for the Giants. Not only is his only skill — left-handed power — exactly the kind of skill that’s muted by AT&T Park, but he would have made a very left-handed lineup even more left-handed.