This story was excerpted from Martín Gallegos’ A’s Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.

Esteury Ruiz utilized his blazing speed this past season to set a new American League rookie record with 67 stolen bases. But that historic accolade does not guarantee he will be manning center field for the A’s in 2024.

While Ruiz’s baserunning lived up to the hype created throughout his Minor League career upon joining the club last offseason in a three-way trade with the Brewers and Braves, the A’s came away from the 2023 campaign viewing the outfielder’s overall body of work as a work in progress.

“There are some things Esty did really well,” A’s general manager David Forst said. “But I think there are clearly some things he can work on.”

From Opening Day on March 30 through July 5, Ruiz started 81 of Oakland’s first 88 games in center field and regularly found himself in the leadoff spot until a shoulder injury landed him on the injured list. Following his return on Aug. 5, Ruiz’s playing time decreased. He started just 31 of his final 47 games played, and most of those starts came against left-handed pitchers and saw him batting at the bottom of the order.

So, what led to Ruiz taking somewhat of a backseat in the second half? For one, there was the arrival of one of Oakland’s top prospects in Lawrence Butler, who arrived to the big leagues on Aug. 11 and played center field in all but one of his 42 games.

Offensive struggles were also related to the lack of playing time. While Ruiz was hitting .257 at the time of his placement on the IL, the A’s were concerned with his overwhelming lack of quality contact. The Statcast numbers exposed this. For the season, Ruiz ranked in the first percentile of Major League hitters in hard-hit rate (20 percent) and average exit velocity (82.7 mph), while his 2.5 percent barrel rate ranked in the fourth percentile.

While Ruiz does not profile as a power hitter, nor do the A’s expect him to morph into one, they do believe there is a way to fine-tune his swing in order to unlock better contact. Those efforts have already gotten underway this offseason.

“I think the biggest thing, we can clean his mechanics up offensively,” A’s manager Mark Kotsay said. “I think we can open up some more power for him and some bat speed, and we’re excited about that. It takes the player to engage and want to make those changes, and I think he does want to make those changes. 

“It’s going to be a process that he’s got to go through, but we’ve identified the things that we feel can open him up and make him even more of an impact player. He’s impactful when he gets on base, but our goal is to increase that by providing some power behind that swing as well.”

Regaining the center field job will be no easy task. As the roster currently stands, the A’s outfield mix includes Butler, JJ Bleday, Seth Brown, Miguel Andujar and 2023 All-Star Brent Rooker, who split time between left field and designated hitter. But Ruiz brings that tantalizing trait of game-changing speed, which figures to keep him firmly on the radar for a continued major role with the A’s.

“I played with Rickey [Henderson] in 2001 and Rickey could steal a base when he wanted to,” Kotsay said. “Esty can [also] steal a base when he wants to. It’s a tool that is exciting for fans and it’s an exciting tool for our team. If you’ve got an opportunity for him to get on base and score with just one hit, it’s a great tool to have.”