SF Giants sign slugger Darin Ruf to minor-league contract

The SF Giants have agreed to a minor-league contract with corner bat Darin Ruf after he was released by the New York Mets last Sunday.

Marc Delucchi | Apr 8, 2023

SF Giants sign slugger Darin Ruf to minor-league contract /

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San Francisco Giants

The SF Giants have signed corner bat Darin Ruf to a minor-league contract, according to a report by Jayson Stark of The Athletic. Ruf, of course, was a key contributor for the Giants from 2020-2022 before he was traded to the New York Mets at last year's trade deadline. However, Ruf struggled mightily with the Mets and was designated for assignment and subsequently released earlier this season.

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.

Ruf was drafted by the Phillies in the 20th round of the 2009 MLB Draft out of Creighton University. Ruf made his big-league debut with Philadelphia in 2012, hitting .240/.314/.433 with 35 home runs in 833 plate appearances over the next five seasons. However, unable to garner a major-league contract after he became a free agent, Ruf traveled across the Pacific Ocean to play with the Samsung Lions in the KBO.

Ruf worked on some swing changes while he was in Korea and returned stateside in 2020, signing a minor-league contract with the Giants. Ruf emerged as one of the best sluggers on the Giants roster, in the pandemic-shortened season, setting the stage for a breakout 2021 campaign. As the Giants won 107 regular-season games, Ruf hit .271/.385/.519 with 13 doubles and 16 home runs in 312 plate appearances.

In 2022, however, Ruf began to take a step back. Playing everyday for the first time since he had joined the Giants, he hit just .216/.328/.373 before he was traded. 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.

Now back with the organization where he had the best success of his MLB career, Darin Ruf will hope to find his 2020-2021 form once again. He will likely begin his season with the organization's Triple-A affiliate in Sacramento and could rejoin the SF Giants at some point this season if he crushes the competition.

Published Apr 8, 2023

MARC DELUCCHI

Marc Delucchi (he/they/she) serves as the Managing Editor at Giants Baseball Insider, leading their SF Giants coverage. As a freelance journalist, he has previously covered the San Francisco Giants at Around the Foghorn and McCovey Chronicles. He also currently contributes to Niners Nation, Golden State of Mind, and Baseball Prospectus. He has previously been featured in several other publications, including SFGate, ProFootballRumors, Niners Wire, GrandStand Central, Call to the Pen, and Just Baseball. Over his journalistic career, Marc has conducted investigations into how one prep baseball player lost a college opportunity during the pandemic (Baseball Prospectus) and the rampant mistreatment of players at the University of Hawaii football program under former head coach Todd Graham (SFGate). He has also broken dozens of news stories around professional baseball, primarily around the SF Giants organization, including the draft signing of Kyle Harrison, injuries and promotions to top prospects like Heliot Ramos, and trade details in the Kris Bryant deal. Marc received a Bachelor's degree from Kenyon College with a major in economics and a minor in Spanish. During his time in college, he conducted a summer research project attempting to predict the future minor-league performance of NCAA hitters, worked as a data analyst for the school's Women's basketball team, and worked as a play-by-play announcer/color commentator for the basketball, baseball, softball, and soccer teams. He also worked as an amateur baseball scout with the Collegiate Baseball Scouting Network (later renamed Evolution Metrix), scouting high school and college players for three draft cycles. For tips and inquiries, feel free to reach out to Marc directly on Twitter or via email (delucchimarc@gmail.com).