Mets Trade Rumors: Darin Ruf Acquired from Giants Prior to Deadline

The New York Mets have added another slugger ahead of MLB's 6 p.m. ET trade deadline, acquiring Darin Ruf from the San Francisco Giants, per Joel Sherman of the New York Post.

In exchange, the Mets are sending JD Davis and pitching prospects Thomas Szapucki, Carson Seymour and Nick Zwack to the Giants.

While Ruf can play both first base and left field, it's more likely he'll see time as New York's designated hitter alongside Daniel Vogelbach. Pete Alonso serves as the team's first baseman, while Mark Canha starts in left field.

When the Mets acquired Vogelbach last month, they knew they needed another bat as the former Pittsburgh Pirate has been particularly bad against lefties, hitting .134/.266/.149 with seven RBI this season.

Ruf, meanwhile, is hitting .252/.364/.523 with nine home runs and 24 RBI against lefties this year. It's reasonable to believe he'll get the start at DH against left-handed pitching, while Vogelbach will get the start against righties.

Vogelbach is hitting .271/.384/.532 with 12 home runs and 27 RBI against right-handers this season.

Ruf has spent the last three seasons of his career in San Francisco after playing for the Philadelphia Phillies for the first five seasons. He had a break in his MLB career from 2017-19, spending three seasons with the Korea Baseball Organization's Samsung Lions.

Davis, meanwhile, has spent the last four seasons of his career with the Mets. This season, he's hitting .238/.324/.359 with four home runs and 21 RBI in 66 games. Before joining the Mets, he spent two seasons with the Houston Astros.

The Mets are first in the NL East with a 65-37 record, 3.5 games ahead of the second-place Atlanta Braves. Adding Ruf to the mix gives the club some much-needed help at the plate entering the final months of the regular season.