Former Phillies Slugger Darin Ruf Suing Reds Over Career-Ending Injury

Ruf suffered a knee laceration on that play, but was later diagnosed with a non-displaced fracture of his patella and was transferred to the 60-day injured list.

He never played a game in Major League Baseball again after that.

"This didn't need to happen," Ruf said in a statement to the Associated Press. "I wish it didn't happen. Players shouldn't have to worry about hidden hazards like that on a major league field."

His complaint says he suffered "permanent and substantial deformities to his knee" and is seeking damages for that, stating the end of the tarp roller had no protective cushioning to shield from the sharp metal.

The lawsuit was filed in the Hamilton County (Ohio) Court of Common Pleas.

At the time of writing, there was no detail about what Ruf is searching for outside of punitive and compensatory damages.

Ruf was a 20th-round draft pick by the Phillies in 2009. And after performing well during the early part of his professional career on the farm where he was named Eastern League MVP and the best position player prospect in Philadelphia's pipeline in 2012, he was promoted for his Major League debut to close that season.

The slugger never quite lived up to the hype he built for himself as a result of his performances in the minors, but he finished his five-year Phillies tenure with a slash line of .240/.314/.433, 35 homers, 35 doubles and 96 RBI.

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