This story was excerpted from Maria Guardado’s Giants Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.

SAN FRANCISCO -- A year ago, Giants broadcaster Duane Kuiper famously declared, “RUF IS ON THE MOVE,” as Darin Ruf chugged around the bases to score the winning run from first base and give the Giants a dramatic walk-off win over the Marlins on Opening Day at Oracle Park.

On Saturday, Ruf found himself on the move yet again, re-signing with the Giants on a Minor League deal following his disappointing seven-month stint with the Mets.

Ruf thrived in San Francisco after returning from his sojourn in the Korea Baseball Organization in 2020, but he was dealt to New York at last year’s Trade Deadline in exchange for infielder J.D. Davis, left-handed reliever Thomas Szapucki and pitching prospects Carson Seymour and Nick Zwack.

The deal is looking like a heist for the Giants, particularly given the emergence of Davis, an Elk Grove, Calif., native who entered Tuesday batting a team-high .370 with a 1.023 OPS and two home runsover his first nine games of the year. Szapucki is currently on the 60-day injured list with left arm neuropathy, but Zwack, a fellow lefty, is already turning heads at Double-A Richmond, where he struck out nine over four scoreless innings in his first start of the year on Saturday.

Ruf’s return brings the most lopsided trade of the Farhan Zaidi era full circle. The 36-year-old slugger carved out a key role with San Francisco due to his track record of crushing left-handed pitching, but his production dried up in New York, where he batted only .152/.216/.197 with zero home runs over 28 games. 

Ruf’s struggles continued this spring, prompting the Mets to designate him for assignment and eat the remaining $3.25 million left on his contract. If Ruf works his way back to the big leagues, the Giants will owe him only the prorated minimum MLB salary of $720,000. 

The injuries to Mitch Haniger and Austin Slater have left the Giants thin on right-handed-hitting outfielders, so it wouldn’t be a surprise if Ruf gets a second chance to reinvent himself in San Francisco in the near future.

“We love Darin, and obviously we have a lot of familiarity with him around here,” manager Gabe Kapler told reporters on Saturday. “With Haniger and Slates needing a little time here and no timetable for them to actually go out on rehab assignments at this point, it’s a good option for us to have some right-handed-hitting depth in Triple-A.”