LOS ANGELES — The Dodgers have acquired a former stolen-base leader.
In a trade of minor-leaguers, the Dodgers sent right-hander Carlos Duran to the A’s in exchange for outfielder Esteury Ruiz. One of the fastest players in professional baseball, Ruiz, 26, will report to Triple-A Oklahoma City.
Right-hander Kyle Hurt, who is recovering from Tommy John surgery, was moved to the 60-day injured list in order to clear a 40-man roster spot.
Originally signed by the Kansas City Royals in 2015, Ruiz has bounced from the Royals to the Padres to the Brewers and the A’s before joining the Dodgers’ organization. He was part of the trade that sent Josh Hader to the Padres in 2022 and the three-way trade between the Braves, Brewers and A’s later that year that also involved big-league catchers Sean Murphy and William Contreras.
The Dominican Republic native played 17 games with the Brewers and Padres in 2022 but stuck with the A’s for 112 games in 2023, leading the American League with 67 stolen bases (second in the majors to Ronald Acuna Jr.’s 73) while batting .254 with a .654 OPS.
He hit just .200 in 29 games with the A’s last season, spending most of the year in Triple-A and not playing after May due to a wrist injury. He didn’t make the A’s roster out of spring training this year and played just two games for Triple-A Las Vegas before he was designated for assignment when the A’s needed a roster spot for left-hander Angel Perdomo, claimed on waivers from the Angels.
Duran, meanwhile, is a 23-year-old right-hander signed by the Dodgers in 2018. He made one start for OKC this season, allowing one run on three hits while striking out eight in 4⅓ innings.
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