WASHINGTON — After addressing the left-handed side of their designated hitter situation late last month the Mets completed the equation Tuesday before shifting to the bullpen.
They acquired veteran right-handed hitter Darin Ruf from the Giants in a trade for J.D. Davis and minor league pitchers Thomas Szapucki, Carson Seymour and Nick Zwack. In a separate trade, the Mets acquired right-handed reliever Mychal Givens from the Cubs for minor league right-hander Saul Gonzalez.
The moves bolstered the Mets’ depth, but catcher and left-handed relief went unaddressed, leaving question marks in both spots. In the days and weeks before the trade deadline, the Mets acquired left-handed hitters Daniel Vogelbach and Tyler Naquin from the Pirates and Reds, respectively.
The 36-year-old Ruf owns an .886 OPS against lefties and will provide a sturdier presence in the right-handed DH spot than Davis, who struggled in the role this season.
“[Ruf] is one of the guys I know our people targeted, and we think it’s a good addition,” manager Buck Showalter said before the Mets faced the Nationals. “It’s a good piece and something we need to be better at.”
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Givens, 32, went 6-2 with a 2.66 ERA in 40 appearances for the Cubs this season. He will join Adam Ottavino, Seth Lugo and Trevor May (who will be activated from the injured list on Wednesday) in giving the Mets a high-upside, right-handed bullpen presence leading into Edwin Diaz.
The Mets had talked to the Cubs about David Robertson, according to a source, before the veteran reliever was traded to the Phillies. Catcher Willson Contreras (who ultimately remained with the Cubs) was also on the Mets’ radar. General manager Billy Eppler, however, found the asking price too steep for both Robertson and Contreras.
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Eppler also wasn’t enthralled with the asking price for left-handed relievers on the market. The Tigers’ Andrew Chafin was a possibility, according to a source.
“We actually did come close on the left-handed market, but just couldn’t get the price point to an area we thought was reasonable enough for us, given where we were in the season and what we were going to have to yield to do that,” Eppler said, adding the organization has internal options that can be considered before the end of the season and hasn’t lost faith in veteran Joely Rodriguez, who has pitched to a 5.72 ERA this season.
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Eppler said the mission at this trade deadline was to improve without surrendering the organization’s top prospects. It’s a group that includes names such as Francisco Alvarez, Brett Baty, Alex Ramirez, Mark Vientos and Ronny Mauricio.
“One of the things we have talked about here is trying to maintain that organizational discipline to try to crush any urge to make a snap or impulsive decision and give up large amounts of future World Series odds or expectation just in exchange for marginal gains right now,” Eppler said. “I think some of that undisciplined thinking can lead to years of mediocrity.”
Showalter said Ruf will probably join the Mets in time for the Wednesday afternoon series finale against the Nationals.
“[The Giants] got a good player and we got a good player, and it’s one of those things that I think will work out for both clubs,” Showalter said. “J.D. has been a good teammate, and he’s done some good things for us and been instrumental in some of our wins. We hope he does well, and he will.”
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Davis had a .238/.324/.359 slash line with four homers and 21 RBIs in 66 games for the Mets this season. The Mets were patient with him for much of the season, hopeful that he was on the verge of a breakout because of his strong peripheral numbers, but he never rebounded in a satisfactory manner. Davis shared the DH spot with Dominic Smith much of this season.
“It was a little bit of ups and downs,” Davis said. “It was more so of having a good game and then not playing as part of the system that was over here. … It’s real hard to get your rhythm going, especially if you have a four-hit game or hit a home run and you are not in the lineup the next day or for the next three days.”
