“It was so obvious that the trade was dumb from day 1” “It was time for it to end weeks ago” - New York Mets fans disappointed by veteran Darin Ruf’s time with the team amid recent struggles

Darin Ruf's time with the New York Mets has not been pleasant. The 36-year-old was traded to the Mets on deadline day, which also saw J.D. Davis and a few other players head to San Francisco.

While Davis has thrived on the West Coast, the same cannot be said for Ruf. The outfielder's struggles have been well-documented, and have also drawn flak from the New York Mets fanbase.

Ruf owns a measly stat line of .152/.216/.197 with just seven RBIs in 66 at-bats. His last home run was on July 24 when he was still with the Giants, and his last extra-base hit was recorded on August 12.

Ruf was inserted into the lineup to cover for the injured Starling Marte and his proficiency against left-handed hitters. Unfortunately, this experiment by the coaching staff has yet to pan out for the New York Mets.

Many have criticized the move because the Mets gave up four players in exchange for Ruf. However, looking at his career statistics against lefties, Ruf owns a .272 batting average and .891 OPS. The biggest question for the fans right now, is where did Ruf's clinical form go?

At the moment, Mets fans are calling for rookie Mark Vientos to start over Ruf. Vientos recorded three base hits with a homer and a double in his last four appearances.

Darin Ruf before the New York Mets

Before getting peppered with criticism in his current club, Darin Ruf was batting .216/.328/.373 with the San Francisco Giants. His stats were even better during the team's 2021 NL West-conquering campaign, when he slashed .271/.385/.519 with 16 home runs and 43 RBIs.

Ruf was signed by the San Francisco Giants on January 23, 2020, on a minor league deal. He then made his return to the majors on Opening Day after spending time in South Korea's KBO League as a part of the Samsung Lions.

With Starling Marter nearing a return and the playoffs fast approaching, it could just be a matter of time before skipper Buck Showalter pulls the plug on starting Ruf.

About the author

Daniel Santiago is a journalist who has been reporting on baseball at Sportskeeda since 2022. He was drawn towards the sport after the underlying statistics and the analysis surrounding it grabbed his attention.

Daniel particularly enjoys furnishing reports about historic events in baseball and analyzing the game through a statistic-based outlook, based on Fangraphs and Baseball-Reference. This is in line with how he enjoyed watching baseball as a pastime. As a writer, he is very particular about cross-checking from reputable sources and doing his due diligence.

He became a lifelong Hideki Matsui fan after his exploits in the 2009 World Series for the New York Yankees. Among the current generation, Daniel's favorites include Shohei Ohtani and Jung Hoo Lee. Daniel is a huge follower of Asian baseball and both Ohtani and Lee have been in the top echelon of their respective leagues during their time with the NPB and KBO.

His favorite moment as a baseball fan was the final at-bat of the 2023 World Baseball Classic between Shohei Ohtani and Mike Trout. He believes there aren't many words to fittingly describe the intensity of the moment.

As an avid sports fan, Daniel watches other sports and Esports when not writing about baseball.

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