3 realistic and affordable Darin Ruf upgrades

The New York Mets have assembled a championship caliber offense with a blend of power and contact, but the Mets are missing a dependable right-handed power hitter that can come off the bench.

Mets GM Billy Eppler and his front office believed that need would be addressed when they acquired Darin Ruf from the San Francisco Giants at the trade deadline last summer in exchange for J.D. Davis and three minor leaguers. But Ruf was not productive enough to lift the Mets last summer, batting just .152 with no home runs in 66 at-bats. But there are names out there in the open market that could give the team a boost at a reasonable price.

1) NY Mets potential Darin Ruf upgrade No. 1: Trey Mancini

Trey Mancini might have one of the great comeback stories in baseball recently by beating colon cancer in 2020, but his bat is still useful. Just ask the World Series champions about him and the eight home runs he hit as a two month rental.

In the two years since returning from cancer, Mancini has batted .247 with 39 home runs and a .735 OPS in 1,203 plate appearances between the Baltimore Orioles and Houston Astros and finally made the playoffs for the first time.

Mancini should sign a one year contract to bounce back after his numbers were worse last year (.239 average) than the year prior (.255 average).

He can also be an insurance option for the Mets at first base if Pete Alonso is hurt. After all, he made a game-saving play at first base late in Game 5 of the World Series to help the Astros win the World Series last year.