Jay Bruce Announces That He Will Hang Up His Baseball Cleats After 14 MLB Season

   New York Yankees first baseman Jay Bruce has announced before the  Sunday matinee that  he will be retiring after game three against the Tampa Bay Rays in his team's second home stand. Bruce has played in 14 MLB season with teams such as the Reds, the the Mets and the now the Yanks. 

  With his most recent ball club, he has been brought aboard the Yankee squad to fill the void at first baseball until Luke Voit works his way off the injured list. Since signing with the pinstriped baseball club, Bruce was the Yankees' starting first baseman for Opening Day, but has increasingly been a bench warmer in the dugout. Brian Cashman and the Yankee organization signed the veteran first baseman because they were convinced that he would provide good defense at first base and be a good lefty at-bat in the a heavy right-handed offensive ball-club.  

  At least that was the plan, but Aaron Boone has not played him since Wednesday's loss to the Toronto Blue Jays.  Since signing with the team, he has slashing line of .118/.231/.235 with one home run and three runs batted in this season. Due to Bruce not being the veteran left-handed presence in the batting order and defensive powerhouse that the Yankees' front office ordered, DJ LeMahieu has been shifted from the second base hole to the first base bag until Voit returns.

  The decision will put Roughed Odor at second base, who has not been all that great either. Coming into the Sunday matinee against the Rays, the Yankees sit at the number five spot in the American League East  with an overall 5-9 record that consist of a 3-5 record at home and a 2-4 record on the road. Odor is  2-for-17 at the plate with a two-error game on Friday night.

  According to Aaron Boone:

  "Yeah, I think LeMahieu’s going to get a lot of time (at first base)....Obviously, Luke is on the horizon a little bit and making really strong progress. So I’m excited about where he’s at. But DJ, I think you could expect to see him a lot there in the near future...” 

  With Bruce announcing his retirement, hopefully he can leave his current team on the right foot by helping the Yanks avoid a series lost against the Rays at the Yankees Stadium as a viewer. With that said, the three-time All-Star will have his final shot to put on a baseball uniform and be among a major league team, even though he will most likely be viewing the baseball game from the dugout.