Remember when the Minnesota Twins acquired utilityman Isiah Kiner-Falefa from the Texas Rangers as part of the Mitch Garver trade in March 2022, then traded him, third baseman Josh Donaldson and catcher Ben Rortvedt to the New York Yankees one day later for catcher Gary Sanchez and third baseman Gio Urshela?
Twins trade utlityman Vidal Bruján to New York Mets just one week after claiming him off waivers from Atlanta Braves
Similar to the Kiner-Falefa-Twins saga, Minnesota claimed utilityman Vidal Bruján off waivers from the Atlanta Braves on January 14, then designated him for assignment one week later to clear space for utilityman Tristan Gray, whom the Twins acquired from the Boston Red Sox for catching prospect Nate Baez. One day after DFA'ing Bruján, Minnesota traded him to the New York Mets for cash.
One likely reason the Twins prefer Gray over Bruján, a former top-100 prospect, is that Bruján is out of options while Gray can be sent to Triple-A St. Paul without going on waivers.
The Mets have made a ton of big moves this offseason. They signed Bo Bichette to a three-year, $126 million contract and Jorge Polanco to a two-year, $40 million contract. They also signed righty relievers Devin Williams, Luke Weaver and Luis Garcia. They've also made three huge trades, acquiring All-Star starting pitcher Freddy Peralta from the Milwaukee Brewers, second baseman Marcus Semien from the Texas Rangers and outfielder Luis Robert Jr. from the Chicago White Sox.
The Mets may get rid of Bruján before the season begins. Still, for now, it made sense they traded for him, as they dealt infielder Luisangel Acuña to the White Sox in the Robert trade. Adding Bruján ensures the Mets have the additional infield depth they need.
Bruján, 28, ranked among MLB Pipeline's top-100 prospects from 2020-22. He has struggled to live up to his prospect rankings, hitting .199/.267/.276 (55 OPS+) with five home runs, 48 RBI and 16 stolen bases in 261 games across parts of five big-league seasons.
Bruján began his MLB career with the Tampa Bay Rays, hitting .157/.218/.221 (27 OPS+) in 99 games for the team from 2021-23 before being traded to the Miami Marlins along with righty pitcher Calvin Faucher for third baseman Erick Lara, righty Andrew Lendsey and a player to be named later, who ended up being outfielder Jake Mangum, on November 17, 2023.
The new Mets utilityman appeared in 102 games with Miami in 2024, posting 0.5 bWAR and a .222/.303/.319 slash line with two home runs and 16 RBI over 278 plate appearances. The Marlins designated him for assignment on December 20, 2024, then dealt him to the Chicago Cubs for first baseman Matt Mervis and cash.
Bruján struggled in 36 games with the Cubs, hitting .222/.234/.289 (51 OPS+) in 47 plate appearances before being designated for assignment on July 30 to make room for trade-deadline acquisitions. The Baltimore Orioles claimed him off waivers from the Cubs. He played in just one game with Baltimore, then was claimed off waivers by the Braves. In 47 plate appearances across 23 games with Atlanta, Bruján hit .268/.362/.317 (95 OPS+) with two doubles and five RBI.