Arbitration figures are being exchanged today in baseball.
The 1 p.m. ET deadline to file for arbitration has passed, but figures are still being exchanged.
Teams and players are either settling on new contracts for arbitration or prepared to battle it out if an agreement isn’t reached.
For Darin Ruf and the San Francisco Giants, that won’t be a problem.
The first baseman and outfielder received a two-year contract extension from the Giants.
The deal is worth $6.25 million and includes a third-year club option.
According to ESPN MLB Insider Jeff Passan, the deal buys out his final two years of arbitration and potentially one free agent season.
First baseman/outfielder Darin Ruf and the San Francisco Giants are in agreement on a two-year, $6.25 million contract extension that includes a third-year club option, sources tell ESPN. The deal buys out his final two years of arbitration and potentially one free agent season.
— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) March 22, 2022
A Solid Bargain
This is a nice little raise for Ruf.
He’s a solid bench bat for the Giants with some pop and keeping him around for a few more years can’t hurt them.
The seven-year MLB veteran blasted 16 home runs in 2021 while hitting .271 and knocking in 43 runs, playing a major role in the Giants surprising 107-win season.
But the 35-year-old is getting a pretty decent raise from the Giants.
Many players aren’t exactly getting fair deals in arbitration, but Ruf and the Giants worked out something even better than what a fair deal would have been.
His final two arbitration years have been bought out, as well as possibly one free agent season.
So the Giants landed quite a big bargain here.
Ruf figures to be a solid bench bat for the Giants again in 2022, along with Wilmer Flores, Austin Slater, Mauricio Dubon, and Steven Duggar.
The Giants look solid heading into 2022.
We’ll see if this extension works out for them or if it ultimately turns out to be an overpay.
