The Chicago Cubs today acquired outfielder Justin Ruggiano from the Miami Marlins for outfielder Brian Bogusevic.
Ruggiano spent five major league seasons with Tampa Bay (2007-08, 2011) and Miami (2012-13), batting .251 (228-for-907) with 49 doubles, 37 home runs and 109 RBI in 317 games. In the last two seasons with Miami, the right-handed hitter has combined to record 41 doubles, 31 home runs, 86 RBI and a .452 slugging percentage that contributed to a .781 OPS. Ruggiano has batted .281 (63-for-224) with a .365 on-base percentage, .589 slugging percentage and .954 OPS the last two years against left-handed pitching.
After spending the first three seasons of his big league career in Tampa Bay, Ruggiano batted .313 (90-for-288) with 23 doubles, 13 home runs and a .909 OPS in 91 games with Miami in 2012. He followed up that year with a career-high 18 home runs and 50 RBI in 128 games with the Marlins last season.
The 6-foot-2, 205-pound Ruggiano has spent time at all three outfield positions, seeing action in 148 games in center field, 108 games in left field and 42 games in right field.
Ruggiano was originally selected by the Los Angeles Dodgers in the 25th round of the 2004 Draft out of Texas A&M University. He is a native of Austin, Texas.
Bogusevic, who turns 30 in February, batted .273 (39-for-143) with six home runs and 16 RBI in 47 games with the Chicago Cubs last year. He signed a minor league contract with the Chicago Cubs prior to the 2013 campaign.
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