NEW YORK -- One year later, the New York Mets finally landed All-Star outfielder Jay Bruce to boost a struggling lineup. And now, hell provide protection for Yoenis Cespedes rather than an alternative to him.Minutes before Mondays trade deadline, the third-place Mets obtained Bruce from the Cincinnati Reds for young infielder Dilson Herrera and minor league left-hander Max Wotell.The 29-year-old Bruce, expected to arrive Tuesday, was hitting .265 with 25 homers and a National League-leading 80 RBI. He made the NL All-Star team this season for the third time.This was an opportunity to deal from a position of relative strength in the system to acquire some offense that we felt we needed, Mets general manager Sandy Alderson said.New York also pursued All-Star catcher Jonathan Lucroy, traded by Milwaukee to Texas instead. But the Mets did complete an additional deal, reacquiring left-hander Jon Niese from Pittsburgh for reliever Antonio Bastardo.Niese will work out of the bullpen at first but also gives the Mets an experienced starter who could fill in for a rotation missing injured Matt Harvey and rehabbing Zack Wheeler.The moves follow last years trade-deadline acquisition of Cespedes, whose offensive spark helped the Mets reach the World Series for the first time since 2000.Before getting Cespedes from Detroit for pitcher Michael Fulmer, the Mets nearly finalized a deal with Cincinnati for Bruce. When talks fell through, New York soon turned its attention to Cespedes.Look, it was an extraordinary turnaround last year. All we can do is try to acquire as many good players as we can to put ourselves in a position to maybe have that magic again, Alderson said. I do think, given our situation right now and the quality of players we have right now otherwise in the clubhouse, somebody like Jay Bruce can be a catalyst for more productive performance out of the other players that we have, especially sitting in the middle of our order.The banged-up Mets began the day with a .237 batting average, lowest in the majors. They lost to the Yankees 6-5 in 10 innings Monday night and dropped to 54-51, leaving them 7 1/2 games behind NL East-leading Washington and 2 1/2 games back for the leagues second wild card.Bruce has been a clutch hitter this season, and New York is in dire need of one. Dreadful with runners in scoring position, the Mets started the day ranked 13th out of 15 NL teams in runs.I think hell make a big impact, manager Terry Collins said.Bruces dangerous left-handed bat should slot in nicely behind Cespedes -- when the right-handed slugger is healthy enough to play. Hampered by a strained right quadriceps thats been nagging him for weeks, Cespedes sat out Monday night for the second consecutive game.Bruce joins a crowded outfield that includes two other left-handed hitters in Curtis Granderson and Michael Conforto. Alderson acknowledged that Bruce is not an absolute perfect fit for us.We start with the need for offense and work from there, the GM said. I think his presence in the middle of our lineup will change things.Bruce, however, is under team control next season and thus provides another type of protection for Cespedes, because the Cuban star can opt out of his contract and become a free agent again after this years World Series.We would not have done the deal without the extra year of control, Alderson said. We were not looking for a rental player, certainly not looking to give up the kind of talent we did for the next two months.Bruce homered in five straight games in late July, a career best. A downside has been his career-long penchant for following a torrid streak with an incredibly cold one.Bruce has a .249 career average with 233 homers in nine major league seasons. He is earning $12.5 million this year, and his contract includes a $13 million team option for 2017 with a $1 million buyout.It definitely shows that theyre doing everything they can to help us, Mets second baseman Neil Walker said.New York clinched the NL East title in Cincinnati last September and returns for a three-game series from Sept. 5-7.Cincinnati is into its second year of rebuilding, trading any high-priced veteran it can. The Reds dealt starters Johnny Cueto and Mike Leake, third baseman Todd Frazier and closer Aroldis Chapman in the past year.They tried to trade second baseman Brandon Phillips to the Nationals, but he blocked the deal. They also had the framework of a three-team deal in place that wouldve sent Bruce to Toronto in the offseason, but that fell through.Herrera, 22, was once regarded as the Mets future second baseman. He made his major league debut in 2014 and hit .215 over 49 big league games in the `14 and `15 seasons. He was batting .276 with 13 homers and 55 RBI this year at Triple-A Las Vegas.We liked Dilson very much, Alderson said. Its not that our estimation of Dilson has gone down; we realize we have some other options and seem to be well-covered there.Traded from the Mets to Pittsburgh last December for Walker, Niese struggled during his time with the Pirates. He went 8-6 with a 4.91 ERA and was moved to the bullpen earlier this month.The 29-year-old Niese is making $9 million in the final season of a deal he signed with the Mets in March 2012, a contract that includes a $10 million team option for 2017 with a $500,000 buyout. He made some critical comments about New Yorks defense after joining the Pirates.I think there will be some things that will be addressed, Collins said. Theres still some guys that are still here that were here last year.Bastardo, who went 4-1 with a 2.98 ERA in 2015 with Pittsburgh, posted a 4.74 ERA in 41 appearances for the Mets. The left-hander agreed to a $12 million, two-year deal with New York in January and is owed $6.5 million in 2017.---AP Baseball Writer Ronald Blum contributed to this report.Jordan 13 Retro Cheap . Defencemen Drew Doughty, Shea Weber and forward Ryan Getzlaf also scored for the Canadians, who started their gold-medal defence 2-0. Goalie Roberto Luongo, getting the call in place of Game 1 starter Carey Price, was solid when needed in making 23 saves for the shutout. Air Jordan 13 Cheap Sale . The Clippers were angry about blowing a big lead; the Kings didnt like being in that kind of hole and nearly digging themselves out only to lose. http://www.cheapairjordan13.net/ . Traditional contenders Brazil, Greece and Turkey drew the other three spots to complete the 24-team field for this summers tournament in Spain, basketball governing body FIBA announced Saturday at its meeting in Barcelona. Cheap Air Jordan 13 . The Olympic champion curler and TSN curling analyst immediately went online to look at the Halls long list of honoured members. Thats when the enormity of the honour sunk in. Discount Air Jordan 13 . -- Timbers coach Caleb Porter didnt stray from his business-like approach to the season even after Portland downed the two-time defending league champion Los Angeles Galaxy to gain crucial playoff position.PORTLAND, Ore. -- The New Orleans Pelicans are on a roll. The Portland Trail Blazers are not.Much has changed since the teams met a week ago at the Smoothie King Center in New Orelans.The Pelicans (6-10) won that one 113-101, beginning a four-game win streak they hope to increase by one Friday night when they visit Moda Center to face Portland. New Orleans, which has won six of its last eight games after an 0-8 start, blasted Minnesota 117-96 Wednesday night behind 45 points from Anthony Davis.The Trail Blazers (8-9) lost four of five games on their recent road trip, falling below .500 for the first time this season.The return of point guard Jrue Holiday -- who missed the first eight games while helping care for wife Lauren, who has a brain tumor -- has helped the Pelicans. But the biggest factor has been a team-first attitude. They averaged 28.5 assists during the four-game skein, second in the NBA over that period.Thats how we win games, Davis, who scored 26 of his points in the first half against the Timberwolves, told the New Orleans Times-Picayune. We just move the ball and share the basketball no matter who scores. There are times we have a good shot and we pass it to someone for a great shot.Thats been our M.O. the past couple of games. Pass up a good shot for a great shot and that has helped guys build confidence in their games. Were playing a good brand of basketball right now.Starting point guard Tim Frazier -- who spent parts of two seasons with Portland -- said the Pelicans cannot get complacent.Four in a row is nice, but we still have a long season to go, Frazier said. We have tto come out and play the same way weve been playing.dddddddddddd Be hungry.The Blazers are no longer the NBAs worst rebounding club -- the addition of power forward Ed Davis to the starting lineup four games ago has helped that. But they are the leagues worst-rated defensive team, and that is not getting better. On the recent trip, the Blazers were lit up by Houstons James Harden (26 points, 14 rebounds, 12 assists), Davis (38 points, nine rebounds, six assists, four steals) and New Yorks Kristaps Porzingis (31 points, nine rebounds).Then there was the 137-125 pasting at Cleveland Wednesday night, the most points a Portland team yielded in a regulation game since 1989. LeBron James recorded a triple-double and Kevin Love scored 34 of his 40 points in the first quarter -- the most an NBA player scored in a first period.I dont think its that we dont have the personnel (to play defense), point guard Damian Lillard, who had 40 points, 11 assists and seven rebounds against the Cavaliers, told Comcast Sports Northwest. Its that we have to lock in on certain areas and understand thats what allows you to be a good defender. Like having an idea what is coming.It starts in your mind. You have to believe you can turn it around and that you want to. But we also have to demand more of each other. As a group, thats what should be on our mind -- thinking how we can improve and bring more to the team and get us going in the right direction. Thats part of holding us accountable. ' ' '