Long Islanders Aiden Ruiz, Jason DeCaro sign contracts with the Pittsburgh Pirates
Aiden Ruiz of The Stony Brook School signs a $3.5 million contract with the Pittsburgh Pirates on Thursday afternoon. Credit: David Meter
The good days keep stacking up for Aiden Ruiz.
Ruiz — a recent graduate of The Stony Brook School — officially signed a contract worth $3.5 million with the Pittsburgh Pirates on Thursday afternoon. The Pirates made him the first player with a Long Island connection to be drafted this year when they selected him in the second round, 44th overall in the 2026 MLB Draft on July 11.
Ruiz, 19, from Woodhaven, Queens, kept his verbal commitment of signing with the Pirates, which he first made public the night he was drafted. Prior to being drafted, he was committed to play at Vanderbilt.
“It’s a blessing from God,” Ruiz told Newsday. “I’m always going to stay humble through every single moment. I realize this doesn’t change me as a person. I still have to do what God put me on this Earth to do and be that guy.”
The Pirates also signed East Northport native and St. Anthony’s alumnus Jason DeCaro — a 20-year-old righthander out of the University of North Carolina — to a $1.3 million contract. They selected him in the third round with the 80th overall pick on July 11. His contract is 25.5% over its original slot value of $1,035,700.
By putting pen to paper, the switch-hitting Ruiz, a shortstop, is now officially a professional baseball player. He said he has not yet been given a specific assignment, or a start date, by the Pirates’ organization, but he will fly down to Bradenton, Florida from Pittsburgh tomorrow morning and find out.
He will either be assigned to play rookie ball for the Florida Coast League Pirates, or to the low-A level to play for the Bradenton Marauders. Both teams are located in the city of Bradenton.
Regardless of which team he starts with, Ruiz is ecstatic to get to work.
“It’s something I’ve always dreamed of growing up,” Ruiz said. “Now that I’ve got this opportunity, I’m looking forward to the next step, which is leaving tomorrow for Florida and putting in the work to try and get to the big-league level . . . I’ve been so excited just to get back on the field already. I’m excited to go down there and put the work in, learn from the coaches, meet everyone down there and get back to competing.”
The contract is a 53.6% increase of the 44th pick’s slot value, which was $2,278,700. His contract was negotiated by David Meter of SportsMeter, who also represents Mets shortstop Francisco Lindor. Ruiz and Lindor met through Meter and became friends, with Lindor taking on a mentorship role for Ruiz during each of the past two offseasons.
“He’s very deserving,” Meter said. “This is why we do what we do, just to be a small part of helping make his dream a reality. That’s the most rewarding part of this for us: all the sacrifice and hard work for them, and the journey as a family and for him as an individual, and playing a small part in helping those dreams come true is amazing.”
Mike Anderson is a high school sports reporter who has covered 12 sports so far at Newsday. He was the sports editor of Stony Brook University's campus newspaper for two years.
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