Vidal Bruján has always believed that speed was a key element of his game.

With the Rays, the former Top 100 prospect’s run tool was graded at 70 on the 20-80 scouting scale, per MLB Pipeline — the best of his five tools. In 9 minor league seasons, he had swiped 240 bases, including 55 in 2018.

But last year, after being traded to Miami, he felt that element of his game was curtailed.

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“What can I say?,” Bruján said in Spanish, taking a deep sigh and pausing for a moment. “Changing teams, changing as a person — things have happened. The Marlins organization stopped me a lot. They didn’t give me the green light that I needed, and I guarded myself a lot [as a result], too.”

When he was traded to the Cubs this winter for Matt Mervis, he vowed to go back to his roots.

“I told myself this year, ‘No. I’m going to be myself. I’m going to steal bases,’” the 27-year-old said.

The utility player hasn’t lived up to his Top 100 prospect billing — in parts of 4 major-league seasons, he’s slashed .189/.261/.270 (.531 OPS) with 5 home runs, 40 RBI and has been caught stealing nearly as many times (13) as he has successfully swiped bases (14).  

And over the last few seasons, his sprint speed has gone down, per Statcast.

In 2021, when he made his major league debut, his 28.8 feet-per-second sprint speed was in the 90th percentile. Last season, it was down to 27.5 feet per second, in the 53rd percentile in baseball.

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Bruján certainly doesn’t think he’s lost a step.

“I came to steal bases, I came to do the little things that I used to do,” Bruján said.

As a player without minor-league options, this spring is vital for Bruján as he looks to crack the team’s Opening Day roster. Trying to reignite his running game could be a difference-maker.

It helps to be in an organization that sees that aspect of his game as a weapon.

“I think sometimes, as a young player, when you get to the big leagues, that part of your game is a little hard — that’s where you got to have some trust in the player and you got to be able to kind of make some mistakes and still get the green light,” manager Craig Counsell said earlier in spring. “And it’s also harder. It’s harder to steal bases in the major leagues. It’s something Vidal has in his game.

“It hasn’t shown up at the big-league level yet, and that’s one thing we certainly want to try to encourage him to do and try to have him get better at in his game.”

In Cactus League action, Bruján has shown that already. In 9 games, he is 4-for-4 on stolen base attempts, while hitting .333 with a 1.042 OPS.

“They’ve given me the liberty to do that and that’s what I wanted,” Bruján said.

Now, he’s hoping to parlay that into contributing to a big-league team with playoff aspirations.

If Bruján can contribute as he has in spring, it’s a versatile piece for Counsell’s roster this season. The Dominican has positional versatility — he can play across the outfield, middle infield and third base. He also can serve as a pinch runner or a platoon matchup with his ability to switch hit.

Whatever it is, he’s ready to contribute — having some mojo back helps in that.

“Honestly, I thank God for the opportunity,” Bruján said. “I felt good, this team had called me and it’s a good organization. They told me the opportunity I would have, and I like my teammates.

“Things are going well … what I expected, I’ve gotten.”