The Los Angeles Dodgers optioned Esteury Ruiz to the Triple-A Oklahoma City Comets on Thursday, opening a spot on their 26-man roster during the off day.
Ruiz has appeared in 19 games for the Dodgers this season, batting .190/.261/.333 with one home run, two RBI, two runs scroed, four stolen bases and a 67 wRC+ across 23 plate appearances.
The 26-year-old was first called up to the Dodgers on July 3 when Max Muncy was placed on the injured list. At the time, he was batting .292/.394/.458 with 16 doubles, eight home runs and 37 RBI over 66 games in Triple-A.
The Dodgers acquired Ruiz in early April in a trade with The Athletics where they sent relief pitching prospect Carlos Duran for the outfielder.
Ruiz played in 132 games for the Athletics in 2023 when he stole 67 bases, but hit just .254/.309/.345 with five home runs, 47 runs scored, 47 RBI and an 85 wRC+.
Over his career, he’s appeared in 197 games, batting .241/.296/.343 with eight home runs, 62 runs, 59 RBI, 77 stolen bases and an 81 wRC+ across 621 plate appearances.
Dodgers replacing Esteury Ruiz with Justin Dean
Although the Dodgers did not announce a corresponding move yet, Justin Dean is expected to fill the open spot on the roster. Sonja Chen of MLB.com reported the outfielder is being called up from Triple-A OKC.
The Dodgers signed Dean to a Minor League deal this offseason, and he’s been productive with the Comets, batting .274/.370/.426 with six home runs, 55 runs, 31 RBI and 25 stolen bases.
The 28-year-old brings plus defense and elite speed with the ability to play all three outfield spots. That gives him a similar skill set to Ruiz, but Dean can handle center field and has a better glove all-around.
Dean has yet to make his MLB debut since being drafted by the Atlanta Braves in the 17th round of the 2018 MLB Draft out of Lenoir-Rhyne University.
The Dodgers will need to open a spot on their 40-man roster for Dean. They could do that by designating a player for assignment or transferring someone on the 10-day or 15-day injured list to the 60-day IL.
Kiké Hernández could be that player moved to the 60-day IL as he still been limited and could return in early September even with the transaction.
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