Vidal Bruján Esteva (born February 9, 1998) 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 ...

second baseman In baseball and softball, second baseman, abbreviated 2B, is a fielding position in the Infielder, infield, between Baseball field#Second base, second and Baseball field#First base, first base. The second baseman often possesses quick hands and f ...

and

right fielder A right fielder, abbreviated RF, is the outfielder in baseball or softball who plays defense in right field. Right field is the area of the outfield to the right of a person standing at home plate and facing towards the pitcher's mound. In the ...

for 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 ...

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 has previously played in MLB for the

Tampa Bay Rays The Tampa Bay Rays are an American professional baseball team based in the Tampa Bay area. The Rays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East Division. They are one of two major ...

Miami Marlins The Miami Marlins are an American professional baseball team based in Miami. The Marlins compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League East, East Division. The ...

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

, and

Baltimore Orioles The Baltimore Orioles (also known as the O's) are an American professional baseball team based in Baltimore. The Orioles compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East Division. As one of the America ...

. Bruján signed with the Rays as an international free agent in 2014, and made his MLB debut with them in 2021.

Career

Tampa Bay Rays

Bruján signed with the

as an international free agent in October 2014. He made his professional debut in 2015 with the

Dominican Summer League Rays The Dominican Summer League Rays or DSL Rays are a Rookie League affiliate of the Tampa Bay Rays based in the Dominican Republic. They play in the Dominican Summer League. As an independent affiliate, they have been in existence since 1997. Histor ...

, batting .301 with two home runs, 20 RBIs, and 22 stolen bases in 60 games. He split 2016 with the

Gulf Coast Rays The Florida Complex League Rays are a minor league baseball team in Port Charlotte, Florida, competing as a Rookie-level team in the Florida Complex League as an affiliate of the Tampa Bay Rays The Tampa Bay Rays are an American professional ba ...

and

Hudson Valley Renegades The Hudson Valley Renegades are a Minor League Baseball team based in Fishkill, New York. The High-A affiliate of the New York Yankees, the Renegades play in the South Atlantic League. The Renegades play their home games at Heritage Financial Pa ...

, hitting a combined .271 with one home run and eight RBIs in 51 games, and played 2017 with Hudson Valley where he batted .285 with three home runs, 20 RBIs, and 16 stolen bases in 67 games. Bruján played 2018 with both the

Bowling Green Hot Rods The Bowling Green Hot Rods are a Minor League Baseball team of the South Atlantic League and the High-A affiliate of the Tampa Bay Rays. They are located in Bowling Green, Kentucky, and play their home games at Bowling Green Ballpark, which ...

(with whom he was named a

Midwest League The Midwest League is a Minor League Baseball league established in 1947 and based in the Midwestern United States. A Class A league for most of its history, the league was promoted to High-A as part of Major League Baseball's 2021 reorganizat ...

All-Star) and the

Charlotte Stone Crabs The Charlotte Stone Crabs were a Minor League Baseball team located in Port Charlotte, Florida, from 2009 to 2020. They competed in the Florida State League (FSL) as the Class A-Advanced affiliate of the Tampa Bay Rays Major League Baseball (MLB) ...

where he slashed a combined .320/.403/.459 with nine home runs, 53 RBIs, and 55 stolen bases in 122 games between the two clubs. He split the 2019 season between Charlotte and the

Montgomery Biscuits The Montgomery Biscuits are a Minor League Baseball team based in Montgomery, Alabama. They are the Double-A affiliate of the Tampa Bay Rays and play in the Southern League. The team was founded in Orlando, Florida, in 1973 as the Orlando Twins ...

, hitting a combined .277/.346/.389/.735 with 4 home runs and 40 RBIs. He played for the

Salt River Rafters The Salt River Rafters are a baseball team that plays in the East Division of the Arizona Fall League. They play their home games at Salt River Fields at Talking Stick in the Salt River Pima–Maricopa Indian Community near Scottsdale, Arizona. ...

of the

Arizona Fall League The Arizona Fall League (AFL) is an off-season baseball league owned and operated by Major League Baseball (MLB) which operates during autumn in Arizona, United States, at six different baseball complexes. Arizona Fall League rosters are filled ...

following the 2019 season. Bruján was added to the Rays 40–man roster following the 2019 season. He did not play in a game in 2020 due to the cancellation of the minor league season caused by 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 ...

. In June 2021, Bruján was selected to play in the

All-Star Futures Game The All-Star Futures Game is an annual baseball exhibition game hosted by Major League Baseball (MLB) in conjunction with the mid-summer MLB All-Star Game. A team of American League-affiliated prospects competes against a team of National League- ...

. On July 7, 2021, Bruján was promoted to the major leagues for the first time. He made his MLB debut that day as the starting second baseman in the first game of a doubleheader against the

Cleveland Indians The Cleveland Guardians are an American professional baseball team based in Cleveland. The Guardians compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. Since , the team ...

. In the game, he recorded his first career hit, an RBI single off of Indians starter J. C. Mejía. Bruján spent most of 2022 with the Triple-A

Durham Bulls The Durham Bulls are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Tampa Bay Rays. They are located in Durham, North Carolina, and play their home games at Durham Bulls Athletic Park, which opened ...

, batting .292. He did, however, play in 52 games with the Rays, and also hit his first MLB home run off

Devin Smeltzer Devin Paul Smeltzer (born September 7, 1995) is an American professional baseball pitcher in the Detroit Tigers organization. He has previously played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Minnesota Twins and Miami Marlins. Amateur career Smelt ...

on June 10 vs. the

Minnesota Twins The Minnesota Twins are an American professional baseball team based in Minneapolis. The Twins compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. The team is named afte ...

. Bruján was optioned to Triple-A Durham to begin the 2023 season. He played in 37 games for Tampa Bay, hitting just .171/.241/.197 with no home runs, 6 RBI, and 3 stolen bases.

Miami Marlins

On November 17, 2023, Bruján and Calvin Faucher were traded to the

in exchange for Erick Lara, Andrew Lindsey and a player to be named later. In an August 24, 2024, blowout loss against the

, Bruján entered the game in the ninth inning and recorded his first career pitching strikeout against

Isaac Paredes Isaac Edgardo Paredes Calderón (born February 18, 1999) is a Mexican professional baseball third baseman for the Houston Astros of Major League Baseball (MLB). He has previously played in MLB for the Detroit Tigers, Tampa Bay Rays, and Chicago ...

. In 102 appearances for Miami, he slashed .222/.303/.319 with two home runs, 16 RBI, and five stolen bases. Bruján 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 ...

following the signing of

Eric Wagaman Eric Wagaman (born August 14, 1997) is an American professional baseball infielder and outfielder for the Miami Marlins of Major League Baseball (MLB). He has previously played in MLB for the Los Angeles Angels. Career New York Yankees Wagaman w ...

on December 20.

Chicago Cubs

On December 29, 2024, the Marlins traded Bruján to the

in exchange for

Matt Mervis Matthew Jared Mervis (born April 16, 1998), nicknamed "Mash", is an American professional baseball first baseman in the Miami Marlins organization. He has previously played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Chicago Cubs. Mervis played colleg ...

. He made 36 appearances for the Cubs, batting .222/.234/.289 with three RBI and two stolen bases. Bruján was designated for assignment by Chicago on July 30, 2025.

Baltimore Orioles

On August 3, 2025, Bruján was claimed off waivers by the

. Bruján's only appearance for the team came against the

Philadelphia Phillies The Philadelphia Phillies are an American professional baseball team based in Philadelphia. The Phillies compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East Division. Since 2004, the team's home stadium has ...

on August 6, where he recorded a single off of Joe Ross in his only at-bat.

Atlanta Braves

On August 8, 2025, Bruján was claimed off waivers by the

Personal life

Bruján's father, Vidal Sr., died from heart failure in 2018.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bruján, Vidal 1998 births Living people Baltimore Orioles players Baseball players from San Pedro de Macorís Bowling Green Hot Rods players Charlotte Stone Crabs players Chicago Cubs players Dominican Republic expatriate baseball players in the United States Dominican Summer League Rays players Durham Bulls players Estrellas Orientales players Gulf Coast Rays players Hudson Valley Renegades players Iowa Cubs players Major League Baseball infielders Major League Baseball outfielders Major League Baseball players from the Dominican Republic Miami Marlins players Montgomery Biscuits players Salt River Rafters players Tampa Bay Rays players Toros del Este players 21st-century Dominican Republic sportsmen