Nationals Young Catcher Has Much-Needed Monster Opening Day Against Phillies

Heading into the offseason, the Washington Nationals had identified a few areas on the team that needed an upgrade.

Many fans focused on the corner infield spots, where the team ranked near the bottom in production. Veteran pitching depth was needed in the rotation and bullpen to help elevate the floor of the team.

But, one position that kind of flew under the radar as a need was catcher, where time was running out on Keibert Ruiz.

Acquired from the Los Angeles Dodgers in the Max Scherzer and Trea Turner blockbuster in 2021, he was one of the key pieces in the return package along with starting pitcher Josiah Gray.

From 2018-2022, he was regarded as one of the best prospects in baseball, annually inside the top 100 across all outlets and reaching as high as No. 11. The rookie limits were exceeded in 2021, but he has yet to live up to expectations.

Solid, yet unspectacular performance was provided in 2022 and 2023, his first two full seasons as a Major Leaguer. But in 2024, his production fell off a cliff with a .229/.260/.359 slash line and 74 OPS+.

His defense was underhwelming as well, leading the Big Leagues with eight errors.

Entering Year 4 as the team’s starter, the pressure was on to perform in 2025. If he struggled similarly to how he did in 2024, the team would have no choice but to explore some replacement options.

Getting off to a strong start was key for Ruiz and he accomplished just that on Opening Day against the Philadelphia Phillies.

“It’s awesome,” manager Davey Martinez said via Mark Zuckerman of Masn. “He works so hard, over the winter, during spring. He really wants to get off to a good start. My big thing with him is not to put that much pressure on him. Just go out there and play. He did the work. Now just go out there and have fun and play the game. He did that today.”

An incredible all-around performance was put forth by Ruiz, who got the job done in every facet of the game.

Defensively, he played a big part in the historic performance of starting pitcher MacKenzie Gore, who struck out 13 batters across six shutout innings, allowing only one hit.

That hit was surrendered to Kyle Schwarber, who attempted to steal second base but was caught by Ruiz. Throwing out base runners has been an issue at times in the past, so gunning down the first attempt of the year was great.

“It’s really nice to see good things happen,” Gore said. “You can be as confident as you want, but when things do happen well, it builds a lot. So him throwing out a guy, I’m sure he heard about it a lot in his career. It’s a great way to start the season. Obviously, hitting the homer was great. And he was dialed in behind the plate.”

The home run that the Nationals’ ace mentioned came during a marathon at-bat against National League Cy Young Award winner runner-up Zack Wheeler in the bottom of the fifth inning.

Ruiz fouled off seven consecutive pitches at one point, and on the 12th of the at-bat, he launched the ball into the bullpen in right field to give Washington a 1-0 lead.

“It was a long at-bat,” he said. “I was competing. And then I won, and I was happy about that.”

After getting off to a brutally slow start in 2024, this is exactly what Ruiz and the team were looking for in 2025. If he can show real improvement behind the plate and in the batter’s box, it will be another thing to help push the team closer to their goal of making the playoffs.