Esteury Ruiz
Esteury Ruiz Reyes (born February 15, 1999) is a Dominican professional baseball center fielder for the Oakland Athletics of Major League Baseball (MLB). He made his MLB debut in 2022 with the San Diego Padres and also played for the Milwaukee Brewers. In 2023, he set the American League record for stolen bases in a rookie season with 67.[1] He also led the American League in stolen bases.
| Esteury Ruiz | |
|---|---|
Ruiz with the Fort Wayne TinCaps in 2018 | |
| Oakland Athletics – No. 1 | |
| Center Fielder | |
| Born: February 15, 1999 Azua, Dominican Republic | |
Bats: Right Throws: Right | |
| MLB debut | |
| July 12, 2022, for the San Diego Padres | |
| MLB statistics (through 2023 season) | |
| Batting average | .248 |
| Home runs | 5 |
| Runs batted in | 49 |
| Stolen bases | 68 |
| Teams | |
| |
| Career highlights and awards | |
| |
Career edit
Kansas City Royals edit
Ruiz signed with the Kansas City Royals as an international free agent in 2015.[2] He made his professional debut in 2016 with the Dominican Summer League Royals and started 2017 with the Arizona League Royals.
San Diego Padres edit
On July 24, 2017, the Royals traded Ruiz, Matt Strahm and Travis Wood to the San Diego Padres for Trevor Cahill, Ryan Buchter and Brandon Maurer.[3][4] He began his Padres career with the Arizona League Padres.[5] He played 2018 with the Fort Wayne TinCaps and 2019 with the Lake Elsinore Storm. He did not play for a team in 2020 due to the Minor League Baseball season being cancelled because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Ruiz returned in 2021 to play for the San Antonio Missions and returned there to start the 2022 season.[6] On July 12, 2022, the Padres selected Ruiz to the major league roster.[7] He made his major league debut that day as the starting center fielder against the Colorado Rockies, going 2-for-4 with an RBI.[8]
Milwaukee Brewers edit
On August 1, 2022, the Padres traded Ruiz, Taylor Rogers, Dinelson Lamet and prospect Robert Gasser to the Milwaukee Brewers for Josh Hader.[9] In 2022, he batted .332/.447/.526 in 437 at bats.[10] Ruiz led the minor leagues in stolen bases, with 85,[11] while being caught 14 times, and was third in the minor leagues in times hit by pitch with 27.
Oakland Athletics edit
On December 12, 2022, the Oakland Athletics acquired Ruiz from the Brewers in a three-team trade in which the Atlanta Braves acquired Sean Murphy, the Brewers acquired William Contreras, Joel Payamps, and Justin Yeager, and the Athletics also acquired Manny Piña, Kyle Muller, Freddy Tarnok, and Royber Salinas.[12]
On March 25, 2023, manager Mark Kotsay announced that Ruiz had made the Opening Day roster.[13] While playing against the New York Yankees on June 28, Ruiz was the final out, grounding out to Josh Donaldson, in Domingo Germán's perfect game. In a July 5 game against the Detroit Tigers, Ruiz stole his 43rd base of the season in the 12–3 victory. In doing so, he set the A's rookie record for stolen bases in a season, surpassing the previous record of 42 set by Mitchell Page in 1977.[14] On July 7, the A's placed Ruiz on the 10-day injured list with a shoulder injury. He was the MLB stolen base leader at the time of the injury.[15] In 132 games for Oakland, Ruiz hit .254/.309/.345 with 5 home runs, 47 RBI, and 67 stolen bases. His stolen base tally set a new rookie stolen base record, surpassing Kenny Lofton's 66 steals from 1992.[16]
See also edit
References edit
- ^ Gallegos, Martín (October 1, 2023). "Ruiz, Rooker finish strong, cap 2023 with milestones". MLB.com.
- ^ Benbow, Sammy (March 4, 2018). "Prospect Esteury Ruiz is on the Rise". East Village Times. Retrieved 2023-09-21.
- ^ Ruiz, Nathan (July 24, 2017). "Padres get Strahm, Wood, prospect from KC". MLB.com. Retrieved 2023-09-21.
- ^ "Minors: What to know: New Padres prospect Esteury Ruiz". July 25, 2017.
- ^ "Arrow's pointed up for 'Caps infielder | TinCaps | Journal Gazette".
- ^ "Minors: Esteury Ruiz's new discipline, Luke Voit struggling in el Paso". May 7, 2022.
- ^ "Padres pregame: Esteury Ruiz in lineup for MLB debut; Rockies without Cron, Bryant". July 12, 2022.
- ^ "Esteury Ruiz makes successful MLB debut with Padres". friarsonbase.com. 13 July 2022. Retrieved 2023-05-23.
- ^ Cassavell, AJ (August 1, 2022). "Padres acquire Hader from Crew in 5-player trade". MLB.com. Retrieved August 1, 2022.
- ^ 2022 Register Batting Leaders Baseball Reference
- ^ Axisa, Mike (November 23, 2022). "Hunter Renfroe not surprised by Brewers trade; these seven players could also be 'too expensive' for Milwaukee". CBSSports.com. Retrieved January 2, 2023.
- ^ "Sean Murphy trade: Braves land catcher from A's in three-team deal; Brewers get William Contreras". CBSSports.com. December 12, 2022. Retrieved January 2, 2023.
- ^ "Athletics' Esteury Ruiz: Lands spot on Opening Day roster". cbssports.com. 24 March 2023. Retrieved 2023-03-25.
- ^ "A's Rookie Esteury Ruiz steals 43rd base, makes history!". whitecleatbeat.com. 6 July 2023. Retrieved July 12, 2023.
- ^ Farkas, Brady (7 July 2023). "MLB Stolen Base Leader Hits Injured List with Shoulder Issue". Fastball. Sports Illustrated.
- ^ "Ruiz, Rooker finish strong, cap 2023 with milestones". mlb.com. Retrieved November 5, 2023.
External links edit
- Career statistics and player information from MLB, or ESPN, or Baseball Reference, or Fangraphs, or Baseball Reference (Minors), or Retrosheet