3 biggest losers of NY Mets spring training so far

1. NY Mets DH Darin Ruf could be DFA’d before Opening Day

Darin Ruf was acquired at the deadline by the Mets and was supposed to do one thing. Mash against lefties. The team acquired Daniel Vogelbach prior to hit against righties, Ruf was supposed to be his platoon partner. Vogelbach swung the bat well as a Met, but Ruf didn’t do anything.

A rough beginning to his Mets tenure put Ruf in the doghouse of just about every Mets fan. They wanted him gone, but he had another year guaranteed at $3 million. The Mets weren’t going to just cut him without seeing what they had, much like the Robinson Cano situation last season.

Ruf is unfortunately dealing with arthritis in his wrist. It caused him to get a later start to swinging the bat than he would’ve liked, and put a damper on winning a roster spot.

Ruf has played in four games this spring and has two hits in 11 at-bats. He’s struck out five times and says his wrist is bothering him and might be an issue despite playing through the pain.

Mark Vientos has gotten plenty of opportunities to play this spring and has come through with 11 hits in 36 at-bats including two home runs and a team-leading nine RBI. Vientos came up for limited at-bats at the end of last season and had an .808 OPS against southpaws. This came after he destroyed them in the minors.

Vientos doesn’t really have a defensive position, but neither does Ruf. Vientos can easily be the platoon partner for Vogelbach and the Mets will likely be better for it. Even if they want to carry someone like Tim Locastro to be the fourth outfielder and plug Tommy Pham into the DH spot, or use Francisco Alvarez there, the Mets have other options.

Ruf had to play his way into a role and whether it’s because of the wrist issue or not, he just hasn’t done that. If that doesn’t change, it’s hard to see him making this team.