Esteury Ruiz races around the bases on his way to a triple against the Cleveland Guardians this season. (Photo by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images)
The Oakland Athletics optioned outfielder Esteury Ruiz to Triple-A Las Vegas, the organization reported on Monday.
With this corresponding move, the Athletics activated infielder Tyler Nevin to the 26-man roster.
We have made the following roster moves. pic.twitter.com/MMDFxIgYPQ
— Oakland A's (@Athletics) April 1, 2024
Nevin was designated for assignment by the Baltimore Orioles on March 28 before the Oakland Athletics claimed him off waivers on March 31.
Ruiz, 25, was born in Azua, Dominican Republic, and played two seasons in the big leagues with the San Diego Padres in 2022 and the Milwaukee Brewers in 2022.
The Athletics acquired Ruiz on December 12, 2022, from the Milwaukee Brewers in a three-team trade in which the Atlanta Braves acquired catcher Sean Murphy. The Brewers acquired catcher William Contreras, right-handed pitcher Joel Payamps, and right-handed pitcher Justin Yeager, resulting in the Athletics acquiring catcher Manny Piña, left-handed pitcher Kyle Muller, right-handed pitcher Freddy Tarnok, and right-handed pitcher Royber Salinas during the Murphy trade.
Ruiz led the American League in stolen bases last year in Oakland with 67 and was caught 13 times. He exceeded his rookie limits in 2023 and is pre-arbitration eligible with his contract status for the 2024 regular season.
Ruiz played in three games to start the 2024 season at home against the Cleveland Guardians and batted .479 in eight plate appearances with three hits, one double, one triple, one RBI, one stolen base, and one strikeout.
During spring training, Ruiz played in 25 games, hitting .236 with 61 plate appearances, smacking 13 hits, four doubles, one triple, one home run, nine RBI, two stolen bases, five walks, and 19 strikeouts.
Last season in Oakland, Ruiz played in 132 games and batted .254 with 490 plate appearances, recording 114 hits, 24 doubles, one triple, five home runs, 47 RBI, 20 walks, 99 strikeouts, and a .654 OPS.
Ruiz was placed on the 10-day injured list with a right shoulder subluxation on July 7, 2023, and was sent to Triple-A Las Vegas on July 27, 2023. He played in five games with 21 plate appearances, batting .400, and ripped eight hits, one double, one triple, one home run, two RBI, three stolen bases, one walk, and five strikeouts before he was activated on August 5, 2023.
In 2022, Ruiz began the year with the Padres in Double-A San Antonio and batted .344 playing in 49 games with 231 plate appearances, smacking 62 hits, 17 doubles, two triples, nine home runs, 37 RBI, stole 37 bases out of 42 attempts, 32 walks, 40 strikeouts, and a 1.085 OPS before he was called up to Triple-A El Paso on June 7, 2022.
He played in 28 games with Triple-A El Paso and hit .315 in 142 plate appearances, stroking 35 hits, six doubles, four home runs, nine RBI, 23 stolen bases, 20 walks, and 25 strikeouts before he made his MLB debut on July 12, 2022, on the road against the Colorado Rockies.
Ruiz played in 14 games with San Diego and batted .222 with 27 plate appearances, recording six hits, one double, one triple, two RBI, one stolen bases, and five strikeouts before he was traded to Milwaukee in exchange for left-handed pitcher Josh Hader going out west for left-handed pitcher Taylor Rogers, right-handed pitcher Dinelson Lamet, and left-handed pitcher Robert Gasser heading to Wisconsin on August 1, 2022.
Ruiz was assigned to Triple-A Nashville the same day he was traded on August 1, 2022. He played in 37 games, batting .329 with 167 plate appearances, smacking 48 hits, 10 doubles, three home runs, 19 RBI, 25 stolen bases, 14 walks, and 29 strikeouts before he was called up to Milwaukee on September 1, 2022.
He played in three games with Milwaukee and did not record a hit in nine plate appearances, walking once and striking out twice before being sent down to Triple-A Nashville on September 8, 2022.
Ruiz has played in seven seasons in the minor leagues in the Kansas City Royals farm system from 2016-17, the San Diego Padres from 2017-22 outside of being with Triple-A Nashville in the Milwaukee Brewers organization and has a lifetime average of .286 with playing in 526 games in 2,256 plate appearances racking 562 hits, 126 doubles, 27 triples, 54 home runs, 263 RBI, 246 stolen bases, 191 walks, 503 strikeouts, and a .824 OPS.
Ruiz was also a MiLB.com Organization All-Star with the Padres in 2017 and 2022.
The (0-2) Las Vegas Aviators will play the (1-2) Sugar Land Space Cowboys, the Houston Astros affiliate, on April 2 on the road at Constellation Field in Sugar Land, Texas, at 7:05 p.m. EST. The game will be streamed on MiLB.com with a paid subscription service. MLB.tv will also include all televised minor league games on its website with a paid subscription.