What happened to Esteury Ruiz? Athletics place current MLB steals leader on Injured List

It's been a difficult season for the Oakland Athletics, however, one of the lone bright spots for the club has been the emergence of Esteury Ruiz.

Currently, the 24-year-old leads the entire MLB with a phenomenal 43 stolen bases, two ahead of potential National League MVP Ronald Acuna Jr.

However, the club will now be without their speedster as the Athletics have placed Esteury Ruiz on the 10-day IL with a right shoulder subluxation. Also known as a partial dislocation, the injury occurred during an attempted pick-off at first base on Wednesday.

"The A’s have recalled RHP Angel Felipe and selected OF Cody Thomas from Triple-A Las Vegas, placed OF Esteury Ruiz on the 10-day injured list retroactive to July 6 with a right shoulder subluxation, and optioned and designated RHP Rico Garcia for assignment." - @AthleticsPR

Given the nature of the injury, it is unclear how long the Oakland Athletics will be without Ruiz. There is a possibility that he returns to the A's lineup for their upcoming matchup against the Boston Red Sox on July 17th, immediately after the All-Star break.

The 24-year-old from the Dominican Republic has been one of the few bright spots for the lowly Oakland Athletics. While he has not provided much in some of the core counting stats, he has emerged as a true threat on the basepaths, swiping a career-high 43 bases in 85 games.

"Nobody has swiped 80 bags in a season since Rickey Henderson and Vince Coleman both did it 35 years ago. Will Esteury Ruiz make history?" - @MLB

To put into perspective that kind of season that Ruiz is putting together for Oakland, last season Jon Berti of the Miami Marlins led the league with 41 stolen bases.

While the increase in the stolen base numbers could likely be directly correlated to some of the MLB rule changes, nonetheless, it has been an impressive season for Ruiz.

Is Esteury Ruiz's season directly connected to the MLB rule changes?

It is very likely that some of the recent changes to the way teams are allowed to play defense, such as the banning of the shift or the limited amount of pick-off attempts certainly could play a factor in Ruiz's season.

The fact that he has already surpassed the season-high set by Jon Berti last year should at least warrant some credit.

"Esteury Ruiz just stole his 41st base of the season, which would have been tied for the league lead last season" - @TalkinBaseball_