Bruce excited to be back in postseason hunt

NEW YORK — When the day Jay Bruce long knew was coming finally came, the career-long Cincinnati Reds outfielder arrived in Queens and walked into a world of orange and blue.

Bruce had been prepping to end up here in certain ways for a while, his name a constant presence in trade rumors for more than a year. So when he punched the clock at Citi Field for his first day of work Tuesday, threw his travel bags into his locker next to Curtis Granderson, met with manager Terry Collins and exhaled, Bruce felt finished with a least the first part of his next journey.

“I feel like I’ve been traded to the Mets for over a year now,” said Bruce, who the Mets tried to acquire at last year’s non-waiver Trade Deadline, then was almost traded to the Blue Jays in the winter, and had been fielding questions about trade rumors for months. “You never know what’s going to happen until it actually happens. Last year, there was some crazy stuff at the Deadline. I try not to jump to any conclusions or anything.

“When [the deal] happened, I was very, very excited. There were a lot of emotions. There is a group of guys I grew up with over there in Cincinnati. But I’m in a new place. It seems like a great group of guys. I’m excited to be a …

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