3 ways Billy Eppler muffed the DH spot in the lineup

2) The Mets needed someone better than Darin Ruf to pair with Daniel Vogelbach

Let’s preach to the choir. The Darin Ruf trade is going to go down as one of the worst the Mets have ever made at the trade deadline. For four players, including the capable major league bat of Davis, the Mets added Ruf to be the right-handed half of their DH platoon with Daniel Vogelbach.

Ruf’s inability to hit against pitchers of either handedness has been a two-month headache. His IL stint in the final week opened up an opportunity for Alvarez. It was too little, too late.

There were definitely other players the Mets could have acquired at the trade deadline instead of Ruf. Brandon Drury, who had some of the best numbers in the league versus lefties, ended up getting traded from the Cincinnati Reds to the San Diego Padres. His numbers did decline following the trade but it’s far better than anything the Mets have gotten out of Ruf.

The deal for Ruf seemed rushed and awkward. It made sense if he was handed to them for free. He wasn’t.

This singular trade capped off a rather underwhelming MLB trade deadline for Eppler. If there’s one way to positively spin it, at least the struggles of Ruf distracted from the lack of a big bullpen arm. Mychal Givens just won’t cut it.

3) The Mets should have avoided needing to have two DHs in the first place

Bigger than finding an alternative to Ruf, the Mets should have taken aim at finding an everyday DH or at least someone that isn’t limited to platoon duties. Rather than make the appropriate trades, the Mets decided to hold onto their top prospects. We can credit them for not getting steamrolled at the trade deadline in this regard. However, there’s no telling what the team will be able to do next year. Jacob deGrom could be gone. Max Scherzer is another year older. The Mets want to win often and for long. The mistake was not successfully adding a player they could do that with for multiple years.

It’s easy to second-guess now. With the season winding down and a whole year of DH troubles, critiquing the Mets in this era comes with plenty of ease.

A DH platoon never seemed like such a superb idea especially with two players limited on defense. Vogelbach is a first baseman—a position filled by an All-Star slugger. Ruf can play first base and some corner outfield. It’s not quite enough and has already limited the Mets defensively at times.

A better strategy would have been to simply add in the best hitter they could even if the position was already occupied. There’s nothing wrong with giving all of your starters occasional starts at the DH spot. Because the Mets did what they chose to do, this hasn’t been a regular option.

As poorly as he has done with the Padres, Josh Bell might have been the better choice even at a high asking price. Admittedly, we’d all be roasting Eppler for choosing wrong but at least there’d be receipts online where we did at one point like the move.

In the case of what they have done at every turn, every receipt reflects poorly on how they muffed up the DH role.