The Mets have designated infielder Vidal Bruján for assignment. That opens an active roster spot for infielder Zack Short, who was claimed off waivers yesterday and has now reported to the team. Chelsea Janes of SNY reported Bruján’s fate prior to the official announcement.
Bruján, 28, was acquired from the Twins in a January cash deal. He was designated for assignment just prior to Opening Day. He cleared waivers and stayed with the team in a non-roster capacity. He was added back to the roster in early May when Ronny Mauricio hit the injured list. Jorge Polanco and Francisco Lindor were already on the IL, so the club had three infielders out of action.
In the six weeks since then, Bruján has hardly played. He has appeared in nine games but mostly as an in-game replacement, only stepping to the plate 13 times. He has one walk and one hit, a single, leading to a .091/.167/.091 line.
Bruján and Short have similar profiles as light-hitting utility guys. It appears the Mets prefer Short, possibly for his glovework, so they are bumping Bruján off the active roster. Since Bruján is out of options, he needed to be nudged off the 40-man as well.
Once upon a time, Bruján was considered a top prospect. Baseball America had him in the middle of its top 100 list from 2019 to 2022. In the Rays’ system at that time, he was considered a fairly well-rounded player. Though he didn’t have power, he had speed, contact ability and strong defense at multiple positions.
Unfortunately, he has never been able to hit big league pitching. He has a .197/.266/.272 line in 658 plate appearances spread across six different seasons. He exhausted his final option season in 2023. In 2024 and 2025, he stuck in the majors but bounced around in bench roles. His past pedigree was too good to for him to clear waivers but no one committed regular playing time to him. Over those two seasons, he received 373 plate appearances between the Marlins, Cubs, Orioles and Atlanta.
The latter club avoided arbitration with Bruján, agreeing to a split contract that pays him $850K in the majors and $500K in the minors. The plan was seemingly to get him through waivers unclaimed. Since Bruján’s service clock is between three and five years, he would have the right to elect free agency but would have to walk away from that money if he were to do so. However, the Twins claimed him off waivers and later flipped him to the Mets.
The Mets were finally able to get Bruján through waivers in March. He got regular playing time in Triple-A but hit .241/.304/.313 there before being called up. Now he’ll likely be on waivers again. Perhaps some club will bet on the past pedigree once more. If he passes through waivers unclaimed again, he would once again have the right to elect free agency but likely wouldn’t, so that he can keep collecting the remainder of the money on his deal.
Photo courtesy of Sam Navarro, Imagn Images
