Vidal Bruján
Vidal Bruján Esteva is a Dominican professional baseball second baseman and right fielder for the New York Mets of Major League Baseball. He has previously played in MLB for the Tampa Bay Rays, Miami Marlins, Chicago Cubs, Baltimore Orioles, and Atlanta Braves. Bruján signed with the Rays as an international free agent in 2014, and made his MLB debut with them in 2021.
Career
Tampa Bay Rays
Bruján signed with the Tampa Bay Rays as an international free agent in October 2014. He made his professional debut in 2015 with the Dominican Summer League Rays, batting.301 with two home runs, 20 RBI, 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 RBI in 51 games, and played 2017 with Hudson Valley where he batted.285 with three home runs, 20 RBI, and 16 stolen bases in 67 games.Bruján played 2018 with both the Bowling Green Hot Rods and the Charlotte Stone Crabs where he slashed a combined.320/.403/.459 with nine home runs, 53 RBI, and 55 stolen bases in 122 games between the two clubs. He split the 2019 season between Charlotte and the Montgomery Biscuits, hitting a combined.277/.346/.389 with four home runs and 40 RBI. He played for the Salt River Rafters of the Arizona Fall League following the 2019 season.
Bruján was added to the Rays 40–man roster following the 2019 season. He did not play in a game in 2020 due to the cancellation of the minor league season caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. In June 2021, Bruján was selected to play in the All-Star Futures Game.
On July 7, 2021, Bruján was promoted to the major leagues for the first time. 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 against the Minnesota Twins.
Bruján was optioned to Triple-A Durham to begin the 2023 season. He played in 37 games for Tampa Bay, hitting just.171/.241/.197 with no home runs, six RBI, and three stolen bases.