| Vidal Bruján | |
| Team: | Miami Marlins |
| Number: | 17 |
| Position: | Second baseman / Right fielder |
| Birth Date: | 9 February 1998 |
| Birth Place: | San Pedro de Macorís, Dominican Republic |
| Bats: | Switch |
| Throws: | Right |
| Debutleague: | MLB |
| Debutdate: | July 7 |
| Debutyear: | 2021 |
| Debutteam: | Tampa Bay Rays |
| Statleague: | MLB |
| Statyear: | August 11, 2024 |
| Stat1label: | Batting average |
| Stat1value: | .184 |
| Stat2label: | Home runs |
| Stat2value: | 5 |
| Stat3label: | Runs batted in |
| Stat3value: | 37 |
| Teams: |
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Vidal Bruján Esteva (born February 9, 1998) is a Dominican professional baseball second baseman and right fielder for the Miami Marlins of Major League Baseball (MLB). He has previously played in MLB for the Tampa Bay Rays. Bruján signed with the Rays as an international free agent in 2014, and made his MLB debut with them in 2021.
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] He played in 37 games for Tampa Bay, hitting just .171/.241/.197 with no home runs, 6 RBI, and 3 stolen bases.[14]
On November 17, 2023, Bruján and Calvin Faucher were traded to the Miami Marlins in exchange for Erick Lara, Andrew Lindsey and a player to be named later.[15]
Bruján's father, Vidal Sr., died from heart failure in 2018.[16]