NEW YORK -- In two blinks of an eye this weekend, Jose Bautista zeroed in on a deal to return to the Blue Jays, while the Phillies agreed to terms with Michael Saunders. Those bits of news landed about a week after the Orioles traded for Seth Smith, fortifying an outfield in need of left-handed thump.
Just like that, the Mets' market for Jay Bruce, which as of New Year's Day included as many as a half-dozen suitors, evaporated down to one or two.
It was with all that swirling around him that general manager Sandy Alderson recently admitted the Mets may not trade Bruce after all.