Esteury Ruiz Gets Called Back to Oakland, Homers in First At-Bat
Oakland A's outfielder Esteury Ruiz has had an eventful season in 2024, which has spanned a total of eight at-bats with the big-league club.
In the first seven, Ruiz went 3-for-7 with a double, a triple, and a stolen base before he was optioned down to Triple-A Las Vegas to make room for new addition Tyler Nevin. This move befuddled the fans, which started a bit of a tongue in cheek conspiracy theory they deemed "WristbandGate." Ruiz had been wearing wristbands from the A's fan group Last Dive Bar, one of the groups that have helped organize Fan's Fest, the reverse boycott, Unite the Bay events, and Opening Day's boycott.
Towards the end of last season, Ruiz clubbed three home runs in September, giving him five on the year. A's manager Mark Kotsay said that they'd been working with Ruiz to try to unlock some of that power in his bat as the 2023 campaign wound down, so there was definitely something that they wanted him to achieve with his swing during the offseason.
When he was optioned, it was made clear that they still wanted him to make an adjustment (striking out less and getting on base more) while playing every day in the minor leagues. Since he led the American League in stolen bases last season, fans were extremely confused, and for good reason. They saw arguably the most exciting player from a 112-loss season sent to the minor leagues after he'd started the year 3-for-7.
The A's may not have quite been ready to call him back up just yet, but with third baseman J.D. Davis headed to the 10-day IL with a right abductor strain, the team needed to add someone to the roster that was already on the 40-man. The options were Ruiz, who was batting .326 with a .423 OBP, three home runs and seven stolen bases in 11 games, Tyler Soderstrom, Jordan Díaz, or Lazaro Armenteros. Soderstrom has been struggling outside of hitting dingers, and Armenteros has just a handful of games at Triple-A. Díaz has a 63 wRC+ (100 is league average) through 11 games.
The answer seemingly had to be Ruiz that would get the call. While he didn't get the start on Monday night, he did get to pinch-hit in the bottom of the eighth, taking the second pitch he saw deep to left field. He cranked the JoJo Romero offering with a 106.8 exit velocity and a 33 degree launch angle. Ruiz is now 4-for-8 this season.
Esteury wasted no time 👀 pic.twitter.com/2iyHiduduB
— Oakland A's (@Athletics) April 16, 2024
This home run is being treated as vindication by the fans that felt that he was unjustly sent down, and to a degree they may be correct. However, it will be interesting to see how he is used in the coming days, because Brent Rooker, who is currently on the IL, is set to return to the roster for the road series in Cleveland this weekend.
There is a chance that they option Ruiz back to the minors to get him regular playing time to make sure that he's ready for everyday at-bats when he gets called up on their timeline. While that may sound crazy, the A's already have Max Schuemann as an option off the bench for pinch running, and while Darrel Hernaiz has struggled in his first taste of the big leagues, he can also handle shortstop and third base.
If Ruiz ends up being the odd-man out yet again, it could be because they want to make sure he's getting regular playing time and fine-tuning some things, and he also has option years which make that possible. Even if there is some pushback on that idea, that will be the reasoning.
The A's could also keep him on the roster and find time for him in the field. It all depends on what kind of a roster the team wants to roll with for the time being and which players have options remaining that could be sent out instead.
JASON BURKE
Jason is the host of the Locked on A's podcast, and the managing editor of Inside the A's. He's a new father and can't wait to take his son to his first baseball game at the Coliseum.