The Los Angeles Dodgers are 7-0 to open the 2025 MLB season, but that won't stop the team from making improvements. Los Angeles acquired speedy outfielder Esteury Ruiz in a deal with the Athletics on Wednesday, the Athletics announced.
Ruiz, 26, rose to prominence in 2023, when he led the American League with 67 stolen bases. Speed is Ruiz's calling card. His sprint speed ranks in the 95th percentile among major leaguers, per Baseball Savant.
The rest of his game remains a work in progress. Even during Ruiz's best season, he hit just .254/.309/.345 in 497 plate appearances. That was good for an 85 wRC+, meaning Ruiz was 15 percent worse than the average major leaguer with the bat.
Despite all those stolen bases, Ruiz spent most of the 2024 season in the minors. He played in just 29 games in the majors last year, hitting .200 in 65 plate appearances. Ruiz failed to make the Athletics' major-league roster out of spring training in 2025, and the team designated him for assignment Sunday.
While Ruiz hasn't lived up to the promise of his 2023 performance, the Dodgers don't need him to be an everyday contributor. The team has plenty of weapons as is, and may eventually opt to use Ruiz as a late-inning stolen-base threat in games where they are trailing. Though Ruiz has plenty of speed, his stolen-base success rates could use some work. He was caught 13 times in 2023. His ratio was much worse last year. Ruiz stole five bases, but was caught four times.
Given those issues, Ruiz could once again spend most of the regular season in the minors. The Dodgers don't need him, though he could provide depth in the majors in the case of an injury. If Ruiz is going to make an impact with the team in the majors, it would likely be as a pinch runner in a highly-specific role. Then again, this is the Dodgers we're talking about. If any team can transform a player through its player-development system, it's the defending champs.
In exchange for Ruiz, the Athletics received pitcher Carlos Duran. The 23-year-old saw time across three minor-league levels in 2024, posting a 3.71 ERA in 53 1/3 innings and striking out 73 hitters.
