As we guessed the other day, Justin Ruggiano has passed through waivers and has opted for free agency. From a very great distance it sure looks like the right decision for him if he’s ever to get a serious shot at a regular job in the majors.
But he’s been a large part of my Durham Bulls experience. You will see that he’s been mentioned a bunch of times in this blog, which makes sense since he was with the Bulls from before this blog was even started. In fact, he’s logged parts of five years in a Bulls uniform (and 30+ games in Montgomery before then). And he has done a stellar job for the Bulls.
Take a look at his numbers. They are impressive. As a Bull he hit .289/.378/.518 over five seasons. 58 home runs, 300 RBI, 105 stolen bases. If we ever get around to setting up a Durham Bulls AAA All-Star list, Justin is going to have to be on it.
I think, but am not sure, that he holds a couple of AAA Bulls records. His 119 doubles has to be close to the top.
At 29 Justin certainly has a solid shot of getting on with another team. I worry that he might end up playing against the Bulls at some point in the future. That could be a problem. He’s got a great glove, great speed, and a solid bat.
Nevertheless, thank you Justin for some real thrills over the last several years and the quality baseball you brought to the Durham Bulls. Good luck!
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Yes, not a huge surprise. It will be interesting to see if he ends up in AAA for another IL team. I would imagine he would get a nice reception back in the DBAP.
ReplyDeleteIn other non-surprising news, Russ Canzler isn't coming back to the Bulls, as he was just traded to Cleveland. I suppose we could see him with Columbus, but I imagine he has a decent shot at making the big club.