For a number of reasons, Keibert Ruiz’s Nationals career has become uncertain. A combination of head injuries and poor performance has put everything in doubt for a guy who showed a lot of promise early in his career.
Keibert Ruiz was supposed to be the catcher of the future when he came to DC in the Max Scherzer/Trea Turner trade. He would have been close to untouchable, but since the Dodgers had Will Smith, they felt comfortable giving up Ruiz. Keibert was having a monster year in Triple-A, hitting
.311 with 16 homers in 52 games for the Dodgers AAA affiliate.
Promising Start:
Those big numbers and Ruiz’s prospect pedigree made Mike Rizzo comfortable enough to make him a headliner of a mega trade. At first, things looked good for Ruiz. He finished the 2021 season strong, continuing his strong AAA performance and hit over .280 in 23 games with the Nats to close the season.
The 2022 was also strong for Ruiz. While his OPS was only .673, his underlying offensive data was strong and he was actually playing good defense behind the plate. Ruiz put up 1.5 fWAR and bWAR that season and looked like a player on the rise.
The Nats believed in him so much that the team gave him an 8-year $50 million extension that runs through the 2030 season with club options for two seasons after that. Mike Rizzo and the Nats front office were all in on their catcher and believed he was ready to make the leap to become an above average starter.
Regression on the Field:
Sadly, that never happened. Right away, Ruiz’s play began to deteriorate on the defensive side of the ball. In 2023, Ruiz actually had the best offensive season of his career. He hit .260 with 18 homers and a .717 OPS. Those are strong offensive numbers for a catcher.
However, he fell off a cliff defensively. He went from an average defender behind the plate to the worst in the league. The framing and blocking were both abysmal, which ate away at his value.
Ruiz actually posted a negative fWAR in 2023 due to that poor defense. bWAR was kinder to the Nats catcher but he still declined from the previous year despite playing more games.
In 2024, Ruiz’s defense went from abysmal to passable. However, his bat fell off a cliff. His average went from .260 to .229 and his OPS went from .717 to .619. Ruiz suffered from an illness where he lost a lot of weight, so fans hoped he would rebound in 2025.
Things looked good when he started the season on fire. He hit two homers in the first series of the season and looked ready to reward the Nats for their faith. However, it has been all downhill from there.
Ruiz did not homer after that first series and his OPS cratered to a career worst .595. He has been worth -1 fWAR this season. However, the on the field performance is no longer the biggest worry for Ruiz.
Concussion Issues:
Right now, the goal for Keibert Ruiz should be to get healthy. In late June, Ruiz was hit by a Josh Bell foul ball that concussed him. He missed about 10 days, but eventually came back into the lineup.
With hindsight, it is clear that Ruiz came back too soon. In a game against the Red Sox, Ruiz was hit by a foul tip. He finished out the game but he has not been seen since. Ruiz suffered another concussion.
Since then, Ruiz has been plagued by long term concussion symptoms. He has had a lot of headaches and has struggled with sleep. Talking to Andrew Golden, Ruiz said it has been tough but that he wants to continue catching.
After a couple months, things seemed to be getting better for Ruiz. We were seeing more of him in the dugout and he began to build up for baseball activities. Early this month, Keibert Ruiz started a rehab assignment in Double-A. He looked rusty, but it was good to see him on the field.
However, we have gotten more bad news in the last couple days. After taking another foul tip to the mask, the headaches have returned for the Nationals catcher. He was pulled from his rehab assignment due to concussion-like symptoms.
Where Do We Go From Here:
This is turning into a sad situation for both the team and the player. Even before the head injuries, questions about Ruiz’s future were emerging. He did not look like the guy behind the plate when healthy.
However, this adds even more uncertainty. I hate to speculate, but it just seems like his body cannot handle the rigors of the catching position anymore. We have seen head injuries force guys like Joe Mauer off the position.
However, Mauer was a Hall of Fame talent whose bat could play anywhere. Things are a bit more complicated for Ruiz. The new regime has a real predicament on their hands. Ruiz has that long term contract, but at this point, he is not a long term piece of this team.
So what does the team do about this? First, we have to see Ruiz healthy and on the field. Once that happens, the team has to make a choice. When some of these pre-arb extensions go wrong, players often spend the last years of their deals buried in Triple-A.
Sadly, that is something I can see happening here. Since Ruiz has gone down, the Nats have gotten more from the catching position. The last couple years, Ruiz just hasn’t been an MLB caliber player while on the field.
Right now, the main concern should be about Ruiz’s health. Head injuries are scary and we are all praying for him. Hopefully this does not impact his life down the road. However, the Nationals have to have an uncomfortable conversation about the player who was supposed to be their catcher of the future.
