Ruiz embraces challenge to improve behind the plate

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. – Ask Keibert Ruiz to evaluate his 2023 season, and he furrows his brow and has to think about how he wants to say this.

“I thought it wasn’t a bad season, but defensively it was bad,” the Nationals catcher replied. “It wasn’t where I want it to be.”

It requires the separation of Ruiz’s game into two parts. At the plate, there was a lot to like. He hit 18 homers. He slashed .300/.342/.467 in the second half. He batted a robust .365 with runners in scoring position, fifth-best in the majors.

But behind the plate, there was a lot to dislike. He rated 37th out of 38 MLB catchers who played at least 500 innings with minus-14 Defensive Runs Saved. He ranked in the bottom 6 percent of all catchers in every advanced defensive metric: framing, pop time, blocking pitches, caught stealing. Opponents stole a mindboggling 119 bases while he was in the game.

That’s not going to cut it long term, and Ruiz is the first to admit it.

In their exit meeting at season’s end, manager Davey Martinez and catching coach Henry Blanco challenged Ruiz to make the necessary improvements. Time will tell if he was successful at it, but in these early days of spring training nobody’s questioning the effort he put in all winter.

“We’re all going to be humbled in this game, but learn from your mistakes and get better,” Martinez said. “Right now, he’s at the point where he’s really trying to get better. We’re measuring a lot of the stuff he’s doing right now, and he has gotten a little better. We’ve just got to take that into the game.”

The emphasis essentially has been focused on three key areas: communicating with pitchers, pitch framing and throwing out runners.

On the communication front, Ruiz has been more aggressive in instigating conversations with pitchers and then listening to their thoughts on various scenarios.

“He’s been very vocal,” Martinez said. “He’s taken on kind of a leadership role. He’s more involved with the pitchers, talking a lot more. That’s awesome.”

On the issue of framing, Ruiz looked at data that showed he was particularly poor at getting strike calls at the bottom of the zone. With Blanco’s help, he set out to alter his catching mechanics, beginning with a new setup: Instead of squatting with both knees up, he’s now doing it with one knee down, allowing him to start lower to the ground.

Has he ever caught that way before?

“Uh, no. Not really,” the 25-year-old said with a laugh. “But I’ve got like three months practice doing it, so I feel comfortable now. We’ve got to help those pitchers. It’s a big difference going from 1-0 to 0-1, or 2-0 to 1-1. I think that’s going to be a big part of it.”

On the stolen base problem, everyone acknowledges Nationals pitchers must get better at being quicker to the plate and altering the pauses in their deliveries to keep runners from anticipating their timing. But Ruiz also knows there are things he must improve, so he worked this winter on strengthening his arm, altering his positioning behind the plate and perfecting his footwork to give himself a better chance at getting rid of the ball quicker.

“I think that we have to get a bit back to the footwork fundamentals that he was really good at with the Dodgers, and even his first year with us,” general manager Mike Rizzo said. “I think that all leads to his throwing mechanics being better and his percentage being better.” 

Said Ruiz: “It’s both of us. I’ve got to make a good throw, they’ve got to give me the chance to throw runners out. They made the adjustment, I made the adjustment. And we put it together, and everything’s going to be good.”

The Nationals desperately want Ruiz to make these strides in the field and not give them any reason to ponder a position switch for the long-term. His offensive production looks a whole lot better as a catcher than as a first baseman or designated hitter, where big power numbers are the norm.

And Ruiz’s offensive contributions last year were significant. Though he got off to a slow start, at times the victim of bad luck on line drives hit right at a fielder, he turned into a real force at the plate over the second half.

That was especially true with runners in scoring position, when Ruiz used his superior bat-to-ball skills to become one of the best clutch hitters in the league, regardless of position. And he wasn’t just hitting RBI singles. Nine of his homers either tied the game or gave the Nats the lead, four of them in the eighth inning or later.

What allowed him to be successful in the most meaningful situations he faced?

“I wasn’t trying to do too much, I think,” he said. “I was more focused on staying in the middle of the field. I think that was the big difference. In those important situations, that’s where I’ve got to be more focused on getting a good pitch to hit. And don’t be afraid to get to two strikes. If it’s not my pitch, just let it go and wait for my pitch.”

Ruiz did all this with a fairly bright spotlight on him. His acquisition, along with Josiah Gray in the Max Scherzer-Trea Turner trade, created pressure on him from day one. The eight-year, $50 million extension he signed last spring set the bar even higher.

Ruiz also found himself batting third or fourth in the Nationals lineup much of the time, a product of the lack of other accomplished hitters on the roster more than the expectations of what he’s supposed to be as a hitter. Perhaps the pending arrival of Dylan Crews, James Wood and Brady House will allow him to move down into a batting position more befitting his abilities.

Until then, the spotlight will remain on this 25-year-old catcher who in his third season in Washington already is viewed as a key leader.

“It’s not pressure, but you want to do everything right,” he said. “You want to be great. I feel like it was an up-and-down season. We learned a lot as a team, and myself, too. I feel more confidence this year. I know I’ve got to take responsibility.”