Giants Sign Korean League Slugger Darin Ruf to Minor League Deal

Darin Ruf was a member of the Philadelphia Phillies from 2012 to 2016 in a backup role. He then departed for South Korea's KBO and starred for the Samsung Lions, leading the league with 124 RBIs in his first season there. Now, after three years, he's coming back stateside on a minor league deal with the San Francisco Giants.

Two more things: Ruf has an invite to major league spring training. And he was the only player in the KBO with a .395+ OBP and .515 SLUG in each of the last 3 seasons.
— Jayson Stark (@jaysonst) January 24, 2020

The 33-year-old Ruf is getting his second chance in the MLB with the Giants. Though he doesn't have a full big league contract as of now, he will have to earn a spot at spring training if he can keep swinging a steady bat.

Ruf's career MLB WAR sits at an unfortunate -1.0. He had a bit of a resurgence overseas, slashing .313/.404/.564 over his three KBO seasons, and that was clearly enough for the Giants to give him another shot.

Here’s a fun fact: Darin Ruf has a .921 OPS against LHP in his ML career. Could become a platoon option to the LH-heavy OF mix #SFGiants
— Jeff Young (@BaseballJeff1) January 24, 2020

If the Giants end up not handing Ruf an MLB roster spot, it's possible that a few other teams may come calling to give him a look. Sneaky value is hard to find, and he may end up being just that in the corner outfield.