The Nationals won the World Series in 2019 but their fortunes faded after that and they pivoted into rebuild mode. At the 2021 deadline, they sent Max Scherzer and Trea Turner to the Dodgers for four prospects. One of those four was catcher Keibert Ruiz.
The Nats felt they had a long-term answer behind the plate. After one full season in Washington, Ruiz was signed to an extension going into the 2023 campaign. It was an eight-year deal with a $50MM guarantee and two club options. The deal locked him up for his age-24 to age-31 seasons. With the club options, the Nats controlled him through age-33.
That 2023 season was fine enough but the deal went south after that. Ruiz stepped to the plate 752 times over the 2024 and 2025 seasons. He was tough to strike out, only going down on strikes in 10.6% of his plate appearances, but that’s where the positives ended.
202 players made at least 750 plate appearances in that time frame. Ruiz’s 3.2% walk rate was literally the worst out of all of them. He hit just 15 home runs and slashed .235/.266/.345 for a wRC+ of 67. Of that same set of 202 players, only Orlando Arcia and Ke’Bryan Hayes had a lower wRC+.
Subpar offense from a catcher can sometimes be acceptable if the player is doing good work while wearing pads but that wasn’t the case with Ruiz. Defensive Runs Saved put him slightly above average but he got awful framing marks from every publicly available metric. Fielding Run Value gave him a grade of minus-18 for the 2024-25 seasons, the worst of any catcher in the big leagues.
There were some obvious signals that the Nats were looking to shake things up behind the plate. President of baseball operations Mike Rizzo was fired in 2025 and eventually replaced by Paul Toboni. Barely two months after getting the job, Toboni traded reliever Jose A. Ferrer to the Mariners. The headliner of Washington’s return was catching prospect Harry Ford.
The Ruiz extension runs through 2030 but it seemed clear that the Nats were pivoting. The front office regime that acquired and extended Ruiz was gone. The new regime quickly added a top catching prospect.
But things changed a bit in 2026. The Nats started the season with Ford in the minors, which allowed Ruiz to have a bounceback season. His 4.5% walk rate was still nowhere close to average but was at least a slight uptick for him personally. He slashed .280/.316/.443 overall for a 105 wRC+. Perhaps more importantly, he improved behind the plate as well. He was credited with 7 DRS and 1 FRV. His framing marks were considered above average by FanGraphs, Statcast and Baseball Prospectus.
Ford, meanwhile, was held back by a shoulder injury. His Triple-A work resulted in a .223/.370/.335 line and 96 wRC+. He slashed .190/.314/.350 in the majors for an 87 wRC+. His defensive grades were around average but in a small sample of 38 games.
That disparity puts the Nationals in an interesting spot. The Ruiz deal looked underwater a year ago but it feels much more palatable now. It has four guaranteed years on it but his salary never gets higher than $9MM in those. The Nats could look to sell high just in case his performance regresses going forward. In 2026, his average exit velocity, hard hit rate and barrel rate improved for him personally but were still below league average. Given his poor approach at the plate, another downturn can’t be ruled out.
It might seem risky to hand Ford the catching job next year, especially because he still has options remaining, but there were some reasons for optimism in his 2026 numbers. As mentioned, he dealt with a shoulder injury. That was earlier in the year and his minor league numbers were stronger as he moved away from that. At the Triple-A level, he hit .183/.294/.215 through May 7 but then .257/.426/.434 after that. He was called up to the majors in July and had poor numbers overall but he had a strong 14.4% walk rate and was held back by a .232 batting average on balls in play.
The Nats flirted with contention in 2026 but 2027 could be another evaluation year. The pitching staff is still one of the worst in the league. The offense was great in 2026 but the Nats sent out Curtis Mead and Luis García Jr. at the deadline. They still have James Wood and CJ Abrams but it feels like a weaker lineup than it did just a few months ago. If 2027 is going to be another year focused on development, then it could be a good time to give Ford a chance. He could get more exposure to big league pitching and get more familiar with Washington’s pitchers.
The Nats could also hold Ruiz. They could have him and Ford split playing time or send Ford back to the minors since he still has a couple of options. That runs the risk of Ruiz having another setback and tanking his trade value but he could also have another solid campaign and put his struggles further in the rear-view mirror.
Despite his bounceback year, other teams might not have Ruiz as their top target behind the plate. Ryan Jeffers, Carson Kelly, Tyler Stephenson and others are available in free agency. William Contreras is slated for free agency after 2027, so it’s possible the Brewers put him on the trade block this winter. The Cardinals could put Iván Herrera and/or Jimmy Crooks out there.
Holding Ruiz would give the Nats some cover for Ford not clicking at the major league level. Not all prospects pan out and it’s entirely possible Ford is not the long-term answer. Ruiz could hold down the fort until Ford or someone else truly steps up.
What do you think? Should the Nats sell high on Ruiz or hold and wait to see how things play out? Have your say in the poll below.
Should the Nationals trade Keibert Ruiz this offseason?
Yes No Don't know/Not sure Vote Vote to see results Yes 62% (33) No 26% (14) Don't know/Not sure 11% (6)Total votes: 53
Thank you for voting!
Photo courtesy of David Frerker, Imagn Images
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