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.

3) NY Mets potential Darin Ruf upgrade No. 3: Luke Voit

If you looked up who led the major leagues in home runs during the COVID-19 season in 2020, the answer would be Luke Voit, who clubbed 22 of them in just 213 at-bats. But that was three years ago, and his value has diminished since his magical year for the Yankees, but this decline is not as dramatic as Duvall's.

Voit got to this point in his career where he can contribute on his ability to smoke the ball more often at the plate than most hitters in the sport. His barrel rate over his career is an elite 14.3 percent, which is more than double the average of 6.7 percent across the majors over his career.

He recently became a free agent after the Washington Nationals did not tender him a contract for the season, and was part of the trade that sent Juan Soto from the Nationals to the San Diego Padres.

The ban on infield shifts in 2023 would benefit Voit as most of his batted balls are pulled, and he has been used to having three infielders on the left side of the infield. It'll be easier for him to pull and get his batting average up.

Voit is someone that can lift the Mets off the bench, and has very good career pinch-hitting numbers. He has a .310 career batting average and .894 OPS in this role over 58 at-bats, and has a .293 career batting average with two outs and men in scoring position.

Voit has more raw power and having someone like Eric Chavez on the coaching staff would help him hit for more contact, something missing from his game.