Darin Ruf Designated For Assignment By Mets

Darin Ruf Designated For Assignment By Mets

The New York Mets are designating OF/DH Darin Ruf for assignment, ending an ugly marriage that never worked out for both sides.

Ruf, 36, never panned out in New York and struggled mightily in a Mets uniform after being acquired from the San Francisco Giants. The left-handed batter played 35 games for New York in 2022, posting a .152 batting average, with no home runs and only seven RBIs. Clearly, Ruf wasn’t comfortable during his time in Queens.

While Ruf struggled last season, it was at least expected that he would make the team. Honestly, Ruf should have made the team, but he completely lost his opportunity to do so. He has played awfully this spring, only going 5-for-30 with one measly RBI.

The Mets acquired Ruf last summer at the trade deadline, in a regretful deal. They shipped off J.D. Davis, Carson Seymour, Nick Zwack and Thomas Szapucki for Ruf. Looking back, this move may have been the worst move that any team made during the entire 2022 trading deadline.

At least he won’t absolutely break the bank. They’ll owe Ruf $3.25 million in total. That comes from the $3 million they owe him for 2023 and $250,000 as a buyout option for 2024. New York has until Monday to find a trade partner for Ruf before he becomes a free agent.

It seemed like Ruf was competing with outfielder Tim Locastro for the final Opening Day roster spot. And like clockwork, Locastro’s contract was selected, and he’ll make the Mets’ Opening Day roster. The Mets optioned third baseman Brett Baty to the minors earlier this week.

I Wouldn’t Be Able To Sleep At Night If I Were Billy Eppler

Just Another Example Of Failure In New York

The Darin Ruf situation is eerily similar to cases we’ve seen in the past. Some people simply, for one reason or another, just can’t play under the bright lights in New York.

Some primary examples of players who were once great or became great excluding their New York tenures are Joey Gallo, and Sonny Gray most recently with the Yankees. Older baseball fans remember Roberto Alomar‘s time with the Mets, and how when he was in New York. He couldn’t handle the media or the fans. Both of those factors, the media and the fans in this city, can be brutal — and that goes for both the Yankees and the Mets.

It’s not like Ruf was a bad player in San Francisco, in fact, he was a quality bat in 2021 and the early part of ’22 for the Giants.

Ruf will be cut most likely. I would doubt anyone would want to give up anything in a trade to get him. If I were to guess, I’d say he signs with a small market team and beats the Mets in the playoffs. That’s just what happens to failed Mets.

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