Vidal Bruján

Vidal Bruján Esteva (born February 9, 1998) is a Dominican professional baseball second baseman and right fielder for the Tampa Bay Rays of Major League Baseball (MLB). He made his MLB debut in 2021.

In this Spanish name, the first or paternal surname is Bruján and the second or maternal family name is Esteva.
Vidal Bruján
Tampa Bay Rays – No. 7
Second baseman / Right fielder
Born: (1998-02-09) February 9, 1998
San Pedro de Macorís, Dominican Republic
Bats: Switch
Throws: Right
MLB debut
July 7, 2021, for the Tampa Bay Rays
MLB statistics
(through 2023 season)
Batting average.157
Home runs3
Runs batted in24
Teams

Career

Bruján signed with the Tampa Bay Rays as an international free agent in October 2014.[1][2] He made his professional debut in 2015 with the Dominican Summer League Rays, batting .301 with two home runs, 20 RBIs, and 22 stolen bases in 60 games. He split 2016 with the Gulf Coast Rays and Hudson Valley Renegades, hitting a combined .271 with one home run and eight RBIs in 51 games, and played 2017 with Hudson Valley where he batted .285 with three home runs, 20 RBIs, and 16 stolen bases in 67 games.

Bruján played 2018 with both the Bowling Green Hot Rods (with whom he was named a Midwest League All-Star) and the Charlotte Stone Crabs[3][4] where he slashed a combined .320/.403/.459 with nine home runs, 53 RBIs, and 55 stolen bases in 122 games between the two clubs.[5] He split the 2019 season between Charlotte and the Montgomery Biscuits, hitting a combined .277/.346/.389/.735 with 4 home runs and 40 RBIs.[6][7] He played for the Salt River Rafters of the Arizona Fall League following the 2019 season.[8]

Bruján was added to the Rays 40–man roster following the 2019 season.[9] He did not play in a game in 2020 due to the cancellation of the minor league season caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.[10] In June 2021, Bruján was selected to play in the All-Star Futures Game.[11]

On July 7, 2021, Bruján was promoted to the major leagues for the first time.[12] He made his MLB debut that day as the starting second baseman in the first game of a doubleheader against the Cleveland Indians. In the game, he recorded his first career hit, an RBI single off of Indians starter J. C. Mejía.

Bruján spent most of 2022 with the Triple-A Durham Bulls, batting .292. He did, however, play in 52 games with the Rays, and also hit his first MLB home run off Devin Smeltzer on June 10 vs. the Minnesota Twins.

Bruján was optioned to Triple-A Durham to begin the 2023 season.[13]

Personal life

Bruján's father, Vidal Sr., died from heart failure in 2018.[14]

References
  1. "Vidal Brujan Comes to Play Every Day". 4 September 2018.
  2. "Vidal Bruján, una apuesta de impacto inmediato para los Toros del Este". www.diariolibre.com. 13 September 2018. Retrieved December 14, 2018.
  3. "Brujan delivers big night for Stone Crabs". MiLB.com. Retrieved December 14, 2018.
  4. "Vidal Brujan: Nadie creía en mí". El Nuevo Diario (República Dominicana). September 12, 2018.
  5. "Vidal Brujan Stats, Highlights, Bio". MiLB.com. Retrieved December 27, 2018.
  6. Michael Avallone (June 27, 2019). "Brujan ready to stir up Biscuits offense". MiLB.com. Retrieved November 16, 2019.
  7. R.J. Anderson (October 31, 2019). "Tampa Bay Rays top prospect list 2020: Wander Franco, baseball's top prospect, leads the charge". CBSSports.com. Retrieved November 16, 2019.
  8. Kelsie Heneghan (October 25, 2019). "Top prospects take stage for Fall League title". MiLB.com. Retrieved November 16, 2019.
  9. Marc Topkin (November 20, 2019). "Rays move on from Matt Duffy, add five prospects to 40-man roster". Tampa Bay Times. Retrieved November 20, 2019.
  10. "2020 Minor League Season Canceled". MLB Trade Rumors. 30 June 2020. Retrieved November 28, 2021.
  11. "2021 Futures Game rosters". mlb.com. Retrieved November 28, 2021.
  12. "Rays Place Manuel Margot On 10-Day IL, Activate Josh Fleming". MLB Trade Rumors. 7 July 2021. Retrieved November 28, 2021.
  13. "Rays' Vidal Brujan: Starting season with Triple-A". cbssports.com. Retrieved 2023-03-27.
  14. Juan Toribio (March 6, 2019). "Brujan honors father with big league ambition". MLB.com. Retrieved November 16, 2019.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.