Report: Jay Bruce expected to draw interest from Blue Jays

For the second consecutive offseason, Jay Bruce is being linked with a move north of the border.

The slugging outfielder, who's now a free agent, is reportedly expected to draw interest from the Toronto Blue Jays this winter, according to Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe.

A Bruce-Blue Jays marriage has been the subject of speculation ever since a three-way deal that would have landed Bruce in Toronto in February of 2016 fell through at the last second. The two sides were most recently linked last winter when the Blue Jays were again reportedly angling to trade for Bruce, then a member of the New York Mets.

Despite those rumors from a year ago, Bruce ultimately remained with the Mets through to this past August, when he was dealt to the Cleveland Indians. Toronto was not linked to Bruce this summer, likely thanks to the team's disappointing 2017 campaign that left the team as deadline sellers.

While the Blue Jays possess a dynamic right-handed bat in third baseman Josh Donaldson, as well as switch-hitting first baseman Justin Smoak and DH Kendrys Morales, Toronto's lack of a game-changing bat from the left side has been a flaw over the last few years - despite making consecutive American League Championship Series appearances in 2015 and '16.

Bruce, a three-time All-Star, hit a career-best 36 homers in 2017 and also added 29 doubles and 101 RBIs while slashing .254/.324/.508 across 146 games with the Mets and Indians. The 30-year-old added another two homers during the ALCS.

Last month, Indians general manager Mike Chernoff said that there is "mutual interest" in re-signing Bruce this winter. Bruce also expressed an openness to rejoining the Mets back in August, shortly after he had been dealt to Cleveland.