SF Giants add Darin Ruf to big-league roster, option Sean Hjelle

The SF Giants have purchased the contract of recent minor-league signing Darin Ruf, optioning right-handed pitcher Sean Hjelle.

The SF Giants have added right-handed slugger Darin Ruf to the 40-man roster and promoted him to the active roster prior to Wednesday night's game against the Los Angeles Dodgers. In a corresponding move, the Giants optioned right-handed pitcher Sean Hjelle (Giants #28 prospect).

The Giants signed Ruf to a minor-league contract over the weekend, reuniting with a former offensive standout. Ruf had been released by the New York Mets after he was designated for assignment by them. He was clearly happy to be back in a Giants unfiorm during his pregame media availability on Wednesday.

"I wish I could have played better," Ruf said on his tenure with the Mets. "But baseball is hard. You go through ups and downs."

Ruf discussed his struggles with adjusting to New York earlier this week in an interview with Andrew Baggarly of The Athletic. Giants manager Gabe Kapler pointed to those comments during his pregame availability on Wednesday as an added reason for optimism.

"The most notable thing from the past couple of days were Darin's quotes, I think you wrote about it Andy, about how challenging this sport is when you have a lot of things going on in your life," Kapler said. "How mentally taxing it can be. Moving is not nothing for major league players. How playing in a new city is not nothing. And how that can take its toll."

Ruf, who spent the first five years of his big-league career with the Philadelphia Phillies, revamped his swing during a stint in Korea and signed a minor-league contract with the Giants prior to the 2020 season. By the end of the season, he had emerged as one of the best sluggers on the team. In his first full season with the Giants, Ruf hit .271/.385/.519 with 13 doubles and 16 home runs in 312 plate appearances.

"For the time that we had Darin, he was one of the more dangeruos right-handed bats against left-handed pitching in baseball," Kapler recalled on Wednesday.

In 2022, however, after Ruf struggled to replicate that production. Playing every day for the first time since he had joined the Giants, Ruf hit just .216/.328/.373. With the Giants falling out of contention, the Giants traded him to the Mets at the trade deadline. Once he arrived in New York, his productivity collapsed. Ultimately, Ruf's Mets career ended after just 74 plate appearances where he posted a .152/.216/.197 triple-slash.

Mets hitter Darin Ruf looks down at the ground after striking out. (2022) / Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports

The Giants acquired a four-player package for Ruf at last year's deadline, adding corner bat J.D. Davis alongside a trio of pitching prospects who all ranked among the top 30 prospects in the farm system: Carson Seymour (Giants #13 prospect), Thomas Szapucki (Giants #14 prospect), and Nick Zwack (Giants #30 prospect). Now, all five players included in the trade are in the Giants organization.

The SF Giants are desperate for right-handed bats right now with outfielders Austin Slater and Mitch Haniger both on the injured list. The Giants are set to face three straight left-handed starting pitchers over the next three games, which should give Darin Ruf an opportunity to get some at-bats. If he shows some flashes of his 2020-21 form, he could stick around for far longer. Otherwise, he will likely be designated for assignment in the coming weeks.