Wendell Cruz-USA TODAY Sports
As the 2023 Opening Day approaches, Mets’ 1B/DH Darin Ruf is not making a case for his placement on the initial roster. In fact, he is doing quite the opposite as he has a mere three hits in 23 at-bats. Consequently, his batting line of .130/.200/.174 is not an encouraging sign as he is continuing to hit poorly, which has been the common theme of his short Mets career.
Ruf, 36, was acquired by the Mets during the trade deadline period of the 2022 season, and they were hoping to solidify the DH position with a proven commodity on the offensive front. However, Ruf did not meet these lofty expectations as he batted .152/.216/.197 in 28 games for the club. While this lack of offensive production could be attributed to a small sample size, Ruf’s continued underperformance during spring training tells a different story.
One possible explanation for Ruf’s struggles could be the wrist soreness that kept him sidelined for the beginning part of spring training. In an article from Johnluke Chaparro of MetsMerized Online, Ruf responded with the following when asked about his ailment: “It’s just something over the last few years that’s bothered me.” Although Ruf claims that this injury has been present for several years, it is not outlandish to say that it could be impacting him on a greater scale as he grows older. It is also significant that he received an injection in his wrist as it had to be severe enough to warrant that form of treatment.
Regardless of the cause of Ruf’s hitting woes, the Mets have high ambitions to win a World Series this season. As a result, they will likely be unforgiving when it comes to deciding who will occupy the 26-man roster spots. As of now, Ruf is in competition with Eduardo Escobar, Brett Baty, and Mark Vientos for the remaining position player roster spots.
Although Escobar is batting .136/.240/.182 in his short spring training sample, he is the most likely to crack the Opening Day roster out of the group as he is in the final year of his two-year, $20 million agreement with the club. Conversely, Baty and Vientos are making it difficult for the Mets to leave camp without them. Most notably, Baty is batting .333/.469/.436 in 21 spring training games. Vientos is batting .283/.316/.491 in the same amount of games, which is also impressive.
While defense has been a topic of concern for Baty and Vientos, Ruf’s lack of defensive prowess does not separate him from the competition. In fact, according to FanGraphs, Ruf posted an unsatisfactory -5 DRS at 1B, which is where the Mets have mainly placed him during spring training. If Ruf continues to hit poorly, the Mets should call into question what he can actually bring to the club if he is not a proficient fielder to go along with it.
Overall, Ruf’s situation with the Mets has been far from ideal. He is an impending free agent with a club option as is entering the final year of his two-year, $6.25M contract. As a result, he has every reason to try and produce better results this season in order to elongate his MLB career. It will be interesting to see how much patience the Mets exercise with Ruf in the coming weeks if these hitting struggles continue.
