Cincinnati Reds Ruiz spent nine baseball seasons with seven different franchises in Minor League Baseball. On July 11, , he was signed to the
Cincinnati Reds organization as a non-drafted
free agent. He made his professional debut that year, playing in 33 games for the
Gulf Coast Reds and two games for Single-A
Clinton LumberKings. In , Ruiz won the
Pioneer League batting title with the
Billings Mustangs, and was named to the league's post-season All-Star squad. He batted .381 with 10 home runs and 55 RBI in just 61 games. Ruiz also ranked fourth in the league in
hits (88) and
slugging percentage (.584). Failing a second drug test, Ruiz had to serve a 30-day suspension under the guidelines of the substance abuse policy again. On April 23, Ruiz signed a minor league contract with the
New York Yankees. He was assigned to the Double-A
Trenton Thunder, where he batted .286 with 26 home runs and 87 RBI in 119 games. The Twins recognized Ruiz as the organization's Minor League Player of the Month of June. He had a
batting average of .441, with three
home runs and 12 RBI during his last ten games with the Red Wings, before being called up by the Twins to play in the major leagues. Liriano and Ruiz were eating together at a restaurant when they heard about the call-up. The Twins designated them to replace right-handed pitcher
Liván Hernández and
outfielder Craig Monroe, making them
free agents. That night, he made his major league debut for the Twins at age 30 as the
designated hitter. The
Cleveland Indians were playing against the Twins at
Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome with 33,709 people attending the game. Ruiz had three plate appearances, getting his first major league hit on his third
at bat He also hit his first major league
home run on August 27, 2008, off of
Seattle Mariners' pitcher,
Ryan Rowland-Smith, only hours after he was named the International League Rookie of the Year. "Feels great, but I'm really down right now because we lost," Ruiz said. "We had a runner at second there and no outs. I should have been up there moving him over."
Toronto Blue Jays Ruiz signed a minor league contract with the Toronto Blue Jays on December 17, 2008. He began the season playing with the
Las Vegas 51s in the
Pacific Coast League, where he was selected to play in the 2009 Triple-A All-Star Game. Through 114 games with Las Vegas, Ruiz was having one of the best offensive seasons of any player in the PCL, with a .320 batting average, 81 runs scored, 43 doubles, 25 homers, 106 runs batted in, 270 total bases, a .392 on-base percentage, and a .584 slugging average. Ruiz was called up to the Blue Jays major league roster on August 11, replacing
Alex Ríos, who was claimed on waivers by the
Chicago White Sox. Toronto was in New York at the time, to face the
New York Yankees at the new
Yankee Stadium, only a few blocks from where Ruiz had grown up. After striking out in his first at bat, Ruiz hit his first home run as a Blue Jay off Yankees pitcher
Joba Chamberlain in the third inning of a 7–5 loss. Ruiz duplicated the feat the next day, homering in the second inning off ex-Jay
A. J. Burnett. On September 6, in a home game against the Yankees, former Blue Jay
Josh Towers threw a ball up and in that hit Ruiz in the face. He walked off on his own power, receiving a standing ovation and waving to the crowd. He finished the 2009 season batting .313 with 10 home runs and 17 RBI in 33 games.
Tohoku Rakuten Eagles After being granted his release from Toronto on May 19, 2010, Ruiz subsequently signed a one-year, $493,000 contract with the
Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles of the
Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB). In 81 games with the Eagles, he batted .266 with 12 home runs and 38 RBI.
Arizona Diamondbacks On March 7, 2012, Ruiz signed a minor league contract with the
Arizona Diamondbacks. He was optioned to the Triple-A
Reno Aces, where he started strong, batting .372 with three doubles, six home runs and 23 RBI in 21 April games. On May 2, the Diamondbacks announced that Ruiz had been named their Minor League Player of the Month for his performance in April. Ruiz was released by the Diamondbacks organization on June 11. In 49 games with Reno, he hit .332 with 14 home runs and 53 RBI. In 71 games for the RailRiders, Ruiz posted a .274 batting average, 17 home runs and 42 RBI. ==References==