6:47 PM: The Dodgers are trading for an outfielder Esteury Ruiz to the Marlins for minor league pitcher Adriano Marreroreports Francy’s Romero. Miami is reportedly planning to appoint the first baseman Erik Wagaman for assignment in a corresponding move. This drops the number of players in LA to 39.
Ruiz is best known for stealing an AL-leading 67 bases as a member of the Athletics in 2023. That’s the only season he’s even played in 30 games at the big league level. Ruiz hit .254/.309/.345 with five home runs in 497 trips to the plate. He only ran at a 4% clip and, despite showing plus speed on the bases, scored poorly as a center fielder.
It clearly wasn’t what the A’s had in mind when they selected Ruiz William Contreras as the centerpiece of their return to the three-team Sean Murphy trade the previous offseason. He spent most of the ’24 season in Triple-A and underwent arthroscopic surgery on his right knee at the end of the year. The A’s cut the bait last April by designating Ruiz for assignment and trading him to Los Angeles.
The 26-year-old has made just 88 trips to the dish at the MLB level over the last two seasons. He’s coming off a big year in Triple-A, hitting .303/.411/.514 while going 62-73 in stolen base attempts. Ruiz has shown a more patient approach to minor league pitching than he did during his big league run a few seasons ago.
Miami preferred Ruiz Dan Myersanother righty backup outfielder the Marlins traded to Cincinnati last week. Myers is a superior defensive option at center, but doesn’t have the advantage of Ruiz as a base stealer. Ruiz is three years younger and has better career Triple-A numbers as he owns a .315/.418/.505 line with an 18% strikeout rate at the highest minor league level. Myers has sparked 23% of his Triple-A plate appearances and owns a .295/.380/.440 mark in 98 games. Ruiz has played in more hitter-friendly environments, but his youth and superior contact skills make him an intriguing depth player. Both players are entering their final minor league option year.
The Dodgers making a roster move will fuel speculation about whether they have anything planned soon on the free agent or trade front. So far, there’s no indication that Los Angeles has any kind of action planned. DFA limbo is frozen between Christmas and New Year’s Day, so this is unlikely to be a move to accommodate a waiver claim.
Regardless of whether they have follow-ups on the horizon, the Dodgers are adding a lottery letter arm to the farm system. Marrero is an 18-year-old right back from Cuba. He pitched in the Dominican Summer League this year. Marrero wasn’t in Miami’s top 30, but signed for a hefty $350,000 bonus. In September, Ben Badler of Baseball America has credited the 6’3″ pitcher with a three-pitch mix (low-90s sinker, sweeper and changeup) that gets promising lateral movement. BA ranked Marrero among the 20 most intriguing pitchers in this year’s amateur signing class.
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