After the Yankees decided to move D.J. LaMahieu to first base, Bruce was no longer a viable option for everyday playing time after starting the season 3-for-34. The 34-year-old would retire with a .244/.314/.467 slash line across 14 major league seasons with 319 home runs, 951 RBI, and three all-star game appearances. Bruce won a Silver Slugger award with the Reds in 2012 and 2013. 

Boone's comments likely spell the end of the Jay Bruce era at first base in New York. The 34-year-old veteran first baseman, who made the Yankees' Opening Day roster as a replacement for an injured Luke Voit, has gotten off to an atrocious start at the plate, hitting .118/.231/.235 with one home run in 39 plate appearances this season. His days on the major-league roster appear to be numbered at this point. Both Mike Ford and Tyler Wade could also factor into the mix on the right side of the Yankees' infield rotation, once they're eligible to be recalled from the team's alternate site in three days.

Derek Dietrich and Mike Ford both seemed like better bets than Bruce as the Yankees' first baseman with Luke Voit out, but the team thought it could tap into some magic, as it often has before, and turn back the clock with the 34-year-old slugger. It certainly hasn't happened yet, and with the entire team off to a rather disappointing start, swapping out Bruce for Ford might be the easiest way to shake things up a bit.

Bruce has been moved up from the eighth spot to sixth in the Yankees' order, despite going 0-for-3 with a walk and a strikeout on Opening Day earlier this week. The 34-year-old veteran first baseman is expected to serve as the team's primary stopgap until Luke Voit is able to return from knee surgery next month. With Bruce sliding up, third baseman Gio Urshela has been dropped to the eighth spot in response. It remains to be seen if this will be manager Aaron Boone's regular lineup moving forward, but it's a pretty significant departure from what he rolled out earlier this week.