The New York Mets have acquired designated hitter Darin Ruf from the San Francisco Giants for infielder JD Davis and three prospects — single-A prospects Nick Zwack and Carson Seymour are A-level and Thomas Szapucki for Darin Ruf.
“We’re excited about Darin’s addition,” Mets manager Buck Showalter said. “I know he’s excited about coming, too.”
The veteran Ruf is expected to create a platoon at the DH spot with Daniel Vogelbach, whom the Mets acquired last week from the Pittsburgh Pirates.
While Vogelbach is known to excel against right-handed pitching, Ruf owns an .886 OPS against lefties this season.
“I think it’s good for everybody,” Mets manager Buck Showalter said. “They got a good player and we got a good player. It’s one of those things that I think will work out for both clubs.”
The deal ends Davis’ four-year stint with the Mets after he was acquired from the Houston Astros; dealt amidst an especially down season in which he’s batting .238 with a .683 OPS, four home runs, and 21 RBI.
He batted .288 with an .845 OPS, 33 home runs and 99 RBI in 269 previous games with the team from 2019-2021. Such numbers prompted the Mets to give the 29-year-old an opportunity to run away with the team’s DH job, but he was unable to do so as lingering issues with his surgically repaired hand hampered his production.
“I’m excited but a little bit upset that I have to say goodbye to some of these guys,” Davis admitted.
“JD has been a good teammate and has done some good things for us and has been instrumental for some of our wins. I hope he does well. He will.”
Ruf is expected to adopt a similar role as to Davis where he will get DHing duties against left-handed pitchers. Showalter also hinted that he could get some reps at first to give Pete Alonso the occasional day off from fielding.
