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Former Colorado Rockies, Atlanta Braves infielder Rio Ruiz signs in Korea

By Noah Yingling

DENVER, CO - SEPTEMBER 2: Rio Ruiz #14 of the Colorado Rockies walks on the field during the seventh inning against the Atlanta Braves at Coors Field on September 2, 2021 in Denver, Colorado. (Photo by Justin Edmonds/Getty Images)
DENVER, CO - SEPTEMBER 2: Rio Ruiz #14 of the Colorado Rockies walks on the field during the seventh inning against the Atlanta Braves at Coors Field on September 2, 2021 in Denver, Colorado. (Photo by Justin Edmonds/Getty Images) /
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Former Colorado Rockies, Atlanta Braves, and Baltimore Orioles infielder Rio Ruiz has signed with the LG Twins, according to MLB Network’s Jon Heyman on Twitter.

Ruiz, 27, spent the latter half of the 2021 season with the Colorado Rockies after they claimed him off waivers from the Baltimore Orioles in late May. He also played in the majors with the Braves before he joined the Orioles in 2019.

Former Colorado Rockies infielder Rio Ruiz is headed to Korea

Rio Ruiz spent part of the 2021 season with the Colorado Rockies after the Baltimore Orioles let him go on waivers.

Ruiz had been with the Orioles since 2019 and in both 2019 and 2020, he was, essentially, an everyday play for them. In 2019, Ruiz played in 127 games and he had 12 homers and 46 RBI with a slash line of .232/.306/.376 with an OPS+ of 80. In 2020, he played in 54 of the 60 games and he hit .222/.286/.427 with an OPS+ of 90.

Prior to joining the Orioles, Ruiz spent parts of three seasons with the Atlanta Braves, as he played 72 games across the three seasons.

Ruiz was drafted by the Houston Astros in the fourth round in 2012 out of high school in Covina, California but the Astros traded him to Atlanta for Evan Gattis in a five-player deal.

Some of the players drafted after Ruiz in that draft include Dodgers utility man Chris Taylor, infielder Max Muncy, Toronto Blue Jays pitcher and former All-Star Ross Stripling, and new Rockies pitcher Ty Blach. All four of them were drafted in the fifth round of the 2012 Amateur Draft.

At Triple-A Albuquerque for the Rockies in 2021, Ruiz played in 59 games and he had seven homers with 28 RBI and a slash line of .304/.361/.496 and in 30 games at the MLB level, he was primarily a pinch-hitter. He only had 40 plate appearances and he hit .171/.225/.200 with an OPS+ of 11.

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Defensively, he played first base, third base, and left field for the Rockies in 2021, and for the Orioles, he also played second base in 2021.

The Rockies removed Ruiz from their 40-man roster in October.

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