Dodgers Acquire Fleet-Footed Outfielder Esteury Ruiz from Athletics

Dodgers Trade for Esteury Ruiz

Making Room

The 26-year-old Ruiz will be optioned to Triple-A Oklahoma City. As a result, Los Angeles will transfer right-hander Kyle Hurt, who is recovering from Tommy John surgery, to the 60-day injured list to make room on the 40-man roster. The Dodgers now have seven pitchers on the 60-day IL.

Defensive Questions Abound

Ruiz has amazing wheels as his stolen base total testifies. However, apart from 2023 where his batting average was a respectable.254. Ruiz has struggled with the glove. He is at -20 Defensive Runs Saved. In addition, he was unable to maintain the offensive consistency in 2024. As a result, he was optioned to the minors in 2024. Shortly thereafter, Ruiz suffered a wrist injury which kept him on the I.L. for an extended period. He also had knee surgery last September. If Ruiz can make the offensive adjustments, the Dodgers could use him as a late-inning substitution.

What the A’s Are Getting

The Athletics are intent on improving their club, now that they are out of Oakland. Carlos Duran has been a diamond in the rough in the minor league system for Los Angeles. He has turned some heads now that he is fully healthy this season. His repertoire includes a sinker-slider combination. The sinker hovers around 95 miles per hour, and the slider can be hard to hit, due to Duran’s height at 6’7″ and long arm angles. In his last outing, he went 4 1/3 innings. He walked four, struck out eight, allowing three hits, and just one run.

Two baseball axioms seem to apply here. One: You can never have enough pitching. Two: Speed never slumps. It will be interesting to see which one benefits either team first.