Upon agreeing to terms with Franklin Gutierrez, Sergio Romo and Chase Utley, the Los Angeles Dodgers faced a crunch, as corresponding moves to clear room on the 40-man roster for each of the signings was required.
There was a natural course of action on Wednesday in placing Yimi Garcia, who underwent Tommy John surgery last October, on the 60-day disabled list in order to pave the way for Romo’s addition. However, the corresponding moves to sign Gutierrez and Utley weren’t nearly as clear.
The next domino nonetheless has fallen, with the Dodgers selling Darin Ruf’s contract to the Samsung Lions of the KBO, according to Ken Gurnick of MLB.com:
Dodgers sell contract of Darin Ruf to Samsung Lions in Korea. One more 40-man spot needed for pending signings of Utley and Gutierrez.
— Ken Gurnick (@kengurnick) February 17, 2017
Ruf was acquired last November in the trade that sent Howie Kendrick to the Philadelphia Phillies. Ruf batted .205/.236/.337 with two doubles, three home runs and nine RBI in 43 Major League games (17 starts) last season.
He hit .294/.356/.529 with 20 home runs and 65 RBI in 95 games with Triple-A Lehigh Valley in 2016. Throughout parts of five seasons with the Phillies, Ruf played 139 games (92 starts) at first base, one game at third base, 76 games (64 starts) in left field and 29 games (27 starts) in right field.
The 30-year-old faced an uphill battle to make the Dodgers roster out of Spring Training, though believed to be working in his favor was the fact that Ruf fared well against left-handed pitching over his career.
Gutierrez brings the same skill set, though not as much defensive versatility. Ruf is a lifetime .240/.314/.433, with 35 doubles, 35 home runs, 96 RBI and a 104 OPS+ in 286 games with the Phillies.
