The Miami Marlins have acquired the speedy outfielder Ruiz from the Los Angeles Dodgers.

As reported by MLB's official site, the Dodgers have agreed today to send outfielder Esteury Ruiz to the Miami Marlins in return for right-handed pitching rookie Adriano Marrero. The two teams have yet to formally announce the transaction.

The speedy Ruiz offered valuable outfield depth for the Dodgers during their World Series-winning campaign last year. In 19 games with the Dodgers, he mainly served as a defensive substitute or pinch runner, batting .190 (4 hits in 21 at-bats) and stealing 4 bases successfully.

This move comes two days after Miami traded Dane Myers to the Cincinnati Reds for minor league outfielder Ethan O’Donnell.

Ruiz fills the right-handed power and center field defensive gap left by Myers’ departure. After Myers left, the Marlins lacked a true center field backup beyond Jakob Marsee and rookie Victor Mesa Jr.; similarly, aside from Heriberto Hernández, they were short on right-handed hitting outfielders.

Since Ruiz was originally on the Dodgers’ 40-man roster, the Marlins need to clear a spot for him. He still has one minor league option remaining and will not be eligible for salary arbitration until after the 2026 season.

Turning 27 in February next year, Ruiz led the American League in stolen bases in 2023 while playing for the Athletics, with 67 steals. He ranked second across the majors, behind only Atlanta Braves’ Ronald Acuña Jr., who had 73. In 2022, he stole 85 bases in just 114 games between Double-A and Triple-A.

Although Ruiz provided some coverage last season for the Dodgers amid injuries to Teoscar Hernández and Tommy Edman, he was not included in the team’s outfield plans for 2026.

As for Marrero, the 18-year-old right-hander signed with the Marlins from Cuba during the last offseason. He started 10 games in the Dominican Summer League, pitching 33 innings with a 3.82 ERA and recording 35 strikeouts.