Millas hopes to make most of first extended look in D.C.

CLEVELAND – Drew Millas was sitting in the dugout in Rochester during Saturday night’s game against St. Paul, not in the Red Wings lineup and not having any reason to think his manager was about to start yelling at him.

And then he heard Matt LeCroy bellow out: “Millas, come down here!”

Not sure what this could possibly be about, the young catcher approached his Triple-A manager and was surprised by what he heard next: “You want to go to the big leagues?”

“Yeah,” Millas responded.

“Alright,” LeCroy shot back. “You’re going.”

Millas was laughing as he shared the story Sunday morning inside the Nationals clubhouse at Progressive Field. His day had begun at 5 a.m. in Rochester, with a 4 1/2-hour drive ahead of him. Now he was back in the big leagues, joining the Nats in time for their series finale against the Guardians.

This isn’t Millas’ first time in the majors. He spent the final month of 2023 here. And he already made two short stints with the Nationals earlier this season when Keibert Ruiz had the flu.

All of that left the 26-year-old feeling a little different about this promotion.

“I know most of the guys here – actually everybody here at this point, with spring training and being up here a couple of times already this year,” he said. “It’s real easy now. None of the nerves were there this time like in previous times. It’s awesome. It’s good to be here.”

The Nationals made the somewhat surprising move to swap out their backup catchers Sunday, demoting Riley Adams to Triple-A and recalling Millas for what could be a more extended look than he’s received in the past.

He hit well in 30 games with Rochester, batting .308 with six doubles, five homers, 22 RBIs and an .858 OPS. He continues to impress behind the plate with his game-calling and pitch-framing skills.

So the Nats want to find out what they have in Millas. Ruiz remains the unquestioned No. 1 catcher. But the plan is to give Millas multiple starts a week behind the plate and see how it goes.

“I don’t want to just bring him up here and sit him,” manager Davey Martinez said. “The plan is to probably catch him two or three times a week, and days where we can DH Keibert Ruiz and maybe even DH Millas so he can get his at-bats as well. … We’ll see how he handles it.”

Millas was a spectator for Sunday’s 5-2 win over Cleveland, but he’s expected to start either tonight or Tuesday at home against the Mets.

He gives the Nationals different look at the catcher position, much more slender and agile than Ruiz or Adams, a more energetic presence behind the plate. And though defense has always been his calling card, he has shown an ability to hit in the minors, with a .798 OPS over 345 plate appearances the last two seasons at Triple-A.

Originally a seventh-round pick of the Athletics in the 2019 Draft, Millas came to the Nationals at the 2021 trade deadline, sent with minor league pitchers Richard Guasch and Seth Shuman from Oakland in exchange for veterans Yan Gomes and Josh Harrison. He hasn’t been touted as a top prospect, but he continues to perform well enough to merit a longer look.

And now he’s finally going to get that look.

“That would mean the world,” he said. “I’m just going to try not to squander any opportunity at any time. And when my name’s called, try to get the job done.”