The New York Mets got Darin Ruf from the San Francisco Giants for J.D. Davis. Announcing the trade on Tuesday, the MLB outfit welcomed the 36-year-old veteran. 

The trade includes left-handers Thomas Szapucki and Nick Zwack going to the Giants along with right-hander Nick Zwack. New York, as per a MLB.com source, has also added Mychal Givens from the Chicago Cubs. 

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Ruf, who has dominated left-handed pitching throughout his career, is batting .216 with 11 homers, 38 RBIs and a .701 OPS overall in his third season with San Francisco. He spent three years in South Korea with Samsung

The 36-year-old has an .886 OPS and nine home runs in 132 plate appearances against lefties and can play first base and left field, though defense is not his strength.

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Davis, 31, was batting .238 with four homers and 21 RBIs in 66 games for the NL East leaders. His primary position on the field is third base, and he’s also played first base and left field.

Who is Darin Ruf? 

Born in Omaha, Nebraska to Bill and Mary Ruf, Darin attended Westside High School. He guided the school team’s Nebraska state championship campaign in his sophomore season. Westside finished runner-up in his senior year. 

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Darin Ruf also played football and basketball and achieved all-state honours in both. He picked up baseball ful-time at the Creighton University, where he played four seasons. He was named the 2007 Missouri Valley Conference (MVC) Player of the Year. 

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In 2009, the Philadelphia Phillies drafted him in the 20th round. Three years later, in 2012, he led the minor leagues (and the Eastern League) with 38 home runs and was named the Most Valuable Player (MVP). Ruf’s major league debut came that year. 

The Mets player was traded to the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2016. He did not play in any games before they sold his contract to the Samsung Lions of the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO).