Nationals Highly Touted Backstop Struggles to Find His Groove

The Washington Nationals face a dilemma at the catcher position. The Nationals thought they locked down their backstop of the future when they signed Keibert Ruiz to an eight-year extension. However, Ruiz has not developed as anticipated, and is looking more like a weak link going forward as the rest of the young core emerges. The Nationals have also quietly made moves that show their doubts about Ruiz’s long-term future.

Keibert Ruiz’s Season Dashed by Underwhelming Performance

When Ruiz arrived in Washington, he was expected to be part of the clubs future. Ruiz and Josiah Gray were the trade pieces the Nationals received for Max Scherzer and Trea Turner. They were both top 50 prospects and came with great expectations. In 2022, Ruiz showed plenty of promise. He was still a work in progress at the plate, but showed his famous bat to ball skills. Ruiz also graded out well defensively, showing a knack for back picking runners at first base. He posted 1.5 fWAR, and looked well on his way to becoming the next great Nationals catcher.

That particular season was enough to convince general manager Mike Rizzo to tie down the extension. It was a risk, but it showed the Nationals were willing to lock down their young position players, something they had not done in the past with the exception of Ryan Zimmerman. The extension minted Ruiz as the Nationals catcher of the present and future. However, in 2023 problems began to emerge.

Defensive Collapse

Ruiz took a step forward with the bat. He improved his OPS by more than 40 points, and tapped into his power, hitting 18 home runs. However, this was overshadowed by his massive defensive regression. Baseball Savant graded Ruiz as the worst defender in baseball in 2023. He looked sluggish behind the plate, getting lazy with his framing and blocking. Base runners were also running all over Ruiz due to his subpar pop time, which was amplified due to the bigger bases. This defensive collapse led to Ruiz posting -0.5 fWAR despite the offensive improvement.  This season, Ruiz has not been as bad, improving his framing and blocking, but he still has trouble controlling the running game.

His Bat Has Gone Cold

While his defense has improved in 2024, Ruiz has now lost his stroke at the plate. As a bat first catcher, this is even more problematic than his troubles with the glove. Ruiz has a paltry .600 OPS, with a .223 batting average. This is unacceptable for a catcher who is known for his elite contact skills. He still does a great job avoiding strikeouts, with an elite 10.4 percent strikeout rate. However, the quality of contact is not there. His average exit velocity went from 87.4 MPH to 85 MPH, which has diminished his ability to do damage. New bat tracking data also shows that Ruiz has one of the slowest swings in baseball. This has led to a lot of popups and weak ground balls.

A serious illness in April explains some of this, but Ruiz still needs to step up his game. With his pedigree and contract, Ruiz will get plenty of chances to prove himself, but he has to perform. 2025 could be a make-or-break year for Ruiz as a starting catcher.

Patience Is Running Out

In this years MLB Draft, Rizzo spent two of his first four picks on college catchers. While the organization needed depth at that position, using this many resources shows Rizzo has questions. Caleb Lomavita and Kevin Bazzell are both athletic contact first catchers, similar to Ruiz. Despite his extension, Ruiz’s $6.25 million salary is not too much to prevent him from being replaced. It is time for him to live up to his pedigree and contract. If he does not, Rizzo made sure there are replacements waiting in the wings.