Esteury Ruiz Reyes (born February 15, 1999) is a Dominican professional

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...

center fielder A center fielder, abbreviated CF, is the outfielder in baseball who plays defense in center field – the baseball and softball fielding position between left field and right field. In the numbering system used to record defensive plays, the ...

for the

Los Angeles Dodgers The Los Angeles Dodgers are an American professional baseball team based in Los Angeles. The Dodgers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League West, West Div ...

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...

(MLB). He made his MLB debut in 2022 with the

San Diego Padres The San Diego Padres are an American professional baseball team based in San Diego. The Padres compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League West, West Division. ...

and also played for the

Milwaukee Brewers The Milwaukee Brewers are an American professional baseball team based in Milwaukee. The Brewers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central Di ...

and

Oakland Athletics The Oakland Athletics (frequently referred to as the Oakland A's) were an American Major League Baseball (MLB) team based in Oakland, California from 1968 to 2024. The Athletics were a member club of the American League (AL) American League We ...

. In 2023, he set the

American League The American League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the American League (AL), is the younger of two sports leagues, leagues constituting Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada. It developed from the Western L ...

record for

stolen base In baseball, a stolen base occurs when a runner advances to a base unaided by other actions and the official scorer rules that the advance should be credited to the action of the runner. The umpires determine whether the runner is safe or out ...

s in a rookie season with 67.

Career

Kansas City Royals

Ruiz signed with the

Kansas City Royals The Kansas City Royals are an American professional baseball team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Royals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. The team ...

as an international free agent on July 3, 2015. He made his professional debut in 2016 with the Dominican Summer League Royals and started 2017 with the rookie–level Arizona League Royals.

San Diego Padres

On July 24, 2017, the Royals traded Ruiz, Matt Strahm and Travis Wood to the

in exchange for

Trevor Cahill Trevor John Cahill (born March 1, 1988) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Oakland Athletics, Arizona Diamondbacks, Atlanta Braves, Chicago Cubs, San Diego Padres, Kansas City Roy ...

, Ryan Buchter and Brandon Maurer. He began his Padres career with the rookie–level Arizona League Padres. He played 2018 with the Single–A

Fort Wayne TinCaps The Fort Wayne TinCaps are a Minor League Baseball team based in Fort Wayne, Indiana. The TinCaps compete in the Midwest League as the High-A affiliate of the San Diego Padres. The team plays its home games at Parkview Field. The TinCaps won the ...

and 2019 with the High–A

Lake Elsinore Storm The Lake Elsinore Storm are a Minor League Baseball team based in Lake Elsinore, California. The Storm compete in the California League as the Single-A affiliate of the San Diego Padres. The team plays its home games at Lake Elsinore Diamond, w ...

. Ruiz did not play in a game in 2020 due to the cancellation of the minor league season because of the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

. Ruiz returned in 2021 to play for the Double–A

San Antonio Missions The San Antonio Missions are a Minor League Baseball team based in San Antonio, Texas. The Missions compete in the Texas League as the Double-A (baseball), Double-A affiliate of the San Diego Padres. The team plays its home games at Nelson W. W ...

and returned there to start the 2022 season, where he played 84 games with a .249 batting average and 36 stolen bases. On July 12, 2022, the Padres selected Ruiz to the major league roster. He made his major league debut that day as the starting center fielder against the

Colorado Rockies The Colorado Rockies are an American professional baseball team based in Denver. The Rockies compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League West, West Division. Th ...

, and singled in his first MLB at-bat against

Austin Gomber Austin Zachary Gomber (born November 23, 1993) is an American professional baseball pitcher for the Colorado Rockies of Major League Baseball (MLB). He has previously played in MLB for the St. Louis Cardinals. The Cardinals' fourth-round selectio ...

. He had two hits in four at-bats in the game with an RBI. In 14 games, he had a .171 average.

Milwaukee Brewers

On August 1, 2022, the Padres traded Ruiz,

Taylor Rogers Taylor Allen Rogers (born December 17, 1990) is an American professional baseball pitcher for the Cincinnati Reds of Major League Baseball (MLB). He has previously played in MLB for the Minnesota Twins, San Diego Padres, Milwaukee Brewers, and S ...

, Dinelson Lamet and prospect Robert Gasser to the

for

Josh Hader Joshua Ronald Hader (born April 7, 1994) is an American professional baseball pitcher for the Houston Astros of Major League Baseball (MLB). He has previously played in MLB for the Milwaukee Brewers and San Diego Padres. Hader is a five-time Ma ...

. In 2022, he batted .332/.447/.526 in 437 at bats. Ruiz led the minor leagues in stolen bases, with 85, while being caught 14 times, and was third in the minor leagues in times hit by pitch with 27.

Oakland Athletics / Athletics

On December 12, 2022, the

acquired Ruiz from the Brewers in a three-team trade in which the

Atlanta Braves The Atlanta Braves are an American professional baseball team based in the Atlanta metropolitan area. The Braves compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Eas ...

acquired Sean Murphy, the Brewers acquired

William Contreras William Jesus Contreras (born December 24, 1997) is a Venezuelan professional baseball catcher for the Milwaukee Brewers of Major League Baseball (MLB). He has previously played in MLB for the Atlanta Braves. Contreras signed with the Braves org ...

, Joel Payamps, and Justin Yeager, and the Athletics also acquired Manny Piña, Kyle Muller, Freddy Tarnok, and Royber Salinas. On March 25, 2023, manager Mark Kotsay announced that Ruiz had made the

Opening Day Opening Day is the day on which professional baseball leagues begin their regular season. For Major League Baseball (MLB) and most of the American minor leagues, this day typically falls during the first week of April, although in recent year ...

roster. In a July 5 game against the

Detroit Tigers The Detroit Tigers are an American professional baseball team based in Detroit. The Tigers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. One of the AL's eight chart ...

, he stole his 43rd base of the season. 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. 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. In 132 games for Oakland, Ruiz hit .254/.309/.345 with five home runs, 47 RBI, and 67 stolen bases. His stolen base tally set a new AL rookie stolen base record, surpassing

Kenny Lofton Kenneth Lofton (born May 31, 1967) is an American former Major League Baseball (MLB) center fielder. Lofton was a six-time All-Star (1994–1999), four-time Gold Glove Award winner (1993–1996), and at retirement, was ranked 15th among ...

's 66 steals from 1992. Ruiz was optioned to the Triple-A Las Vegas Aviators on April 1, 2024 but was recalled on April 15 after J. D. Davis was placed on the injury list. In 29 games for Oakland, he slashed .200/.270/.382 with two home runs, eight RBI, and five stolen bases. He was placed on the injured list with a strained left wrist on May 23 and transferred to the 60–day injured list on September 4, ending his season. Ruiz was again optioned to Las Vegas to begin the 2025 season and was

designated for assignment Designated for assignment (DFA) is a contractual term used in Major League Baseball (MLB). A player who is designated for assignment is immediately removed from the team's 40-man roster, after which the team must, within seven days, return the pla ...

on March 30 after only two games.

Los Angeles Dodgers

On April 2, 2025, the

acquired Ruiz from the Athletics in exchange for minor league pitcher Carlos Duran.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ruiz, Esteury 1999 births Living people Arizona Complex League Athletics players Arizona League Padres players Arizona League Royals players Dominican Summer League Royals players El Paso Chihuahuas players Fort Wayne TinCaps players Lake Elsinore Storm players Las Vegas Aviators players Major League Baseball outfielders Major League Baseball players from the Dominican Republic 21st-century Dominican Republic sportsmen Milwaukee Brewers players Nashville Sounds players Oakland Athletics players Oklahoma City Comets players Baseball players from Azua Province San Antonio Missions players San Diego Padres players Stockton Ports players Toros del Este players