Ruiz's offensive progress was notable, as were catching struggles

PLAYER REVIEW: KEIBERT RUIZ

Age on Opening Day 2024: 25

How acquired: Traded from Dodgers with Josiah Gray, Donovan Casey and Gerardo Carrillo for Max Scherzer and Trea Turner, July 2021

MLB service time: 2 years, 64 days

2023 salary: $1.375 million

Contract status: Signed for $6.375 million in 2024, $5.375 million in 2025-27, $7.375 million in 2028, $9.375 million in 2029-30, $12 million club option in 2031, $14 million club option in 2032.

2023 stats: 136 G, 562 PA, 523 AB, 55 R, 136 H, 24 2B, 0 3B, 18 HR, 67 RBI, 1 SB, 1 CS, 31 BB, 58 SO, .260 AVG, .308 OBP, .409 SLG, .717 OPS, 97 OPS+, -14 DRS, 1.3 bWAR, 0.0 fWAR

Quotable: “It’s a little bit more homers than last year, and I have to feel good about that. But I’ve got to chase less. I want to get better on that. I know I can put the ball in play. I’ve just got to make better selection with the pitches in the strike zone, and everything’s going to be good.” – Keibert Ruiz

2023 analysis: After a solid first full season in the majors, hopes were high for Ruiz entering this year. And those hopes only rose when he signed an eight-year, $50 million extension during spring training, the first player in Nationals history to agree to that kind of deal before reaching arbitration eligibility. The organization made it clear: Ruiz was going to be their long-term catcher.

It can be tough to deal with the added pressure that comes with such a contract, and Ruiz perhaps showed some signs of that early in the season. He finished the first half with a disappointing .226/.279/.360 slash line. Through it all, though, he showed an ability to deliver in big moments, his .365 batting average with runners in scoring position pretty consistent all year long. He just wasn’t getting hits to fall.

Then, those hits started falling in the second half in a big way. Ruiz’s slash line after the All-Star break: .300/.342/.467. He hit for a bit more power. But more than anything, he hit more singles, perhaps evidence of a better approach at the plate, with fewer swings at pitches out of the zone.

Ruiz’s offensive progress was obvious and notable throughout the season. Unfortunately, his defensive struggles were also obvious and noticeable. He allowed a whopping 119 opposing runners to steal off him, his 15 percent caught stealing rate nearly cut it half from the previous year. Yes, stolen bases were up across baseball thanks to rule changes, but Ruiz’s drop-off far exceeded the norm. He also continued to have trouble framing pitches, ranking in the third percentile among all major league catchers in that department.

2024 outlook: There’s no question Ruiz enters next season as one of the core pieces of the Nationals’ rebuild. And as other, younger prospects begin to arrive on the scene, he’ll be counted on as a leader in spite of his age. He embraces that role, though, and understands it comes with the territory (and the contract he signed).

Offensively, there’s still plenty of room for improvement. The Nats have been preaching with Ruiz since he arrived to become more disciplined at the plate. He has the ability to get the bat to almost any pitch (his 14.3 percent whiff rate is among the lowest in the league), but that doesn’t mean he has to do it so much. He swung at a hefty 36.5 percent of pitches out of the strike zone and made contact on those pitches a staggering 74.9 percent of the time (league average was 58 percent). With him, less can be more.

Defensively, Ruiz understands how much work there is to be done. He plans to spend much of his offseason working on being quicker to release the ball on stolen base attempts, and to get himself into a better throwing position. Whether he can ever develop into a better framer of pitches remains to be seen, as does the true value of that skill if MLB moves closer to automated balls and strikes.

Something else worth noting: Davey Martinez used Ruiz as his designated hitter 16 times this season, a way both to get backup Riley Adams more playing time and to keep Ruiz in the lineup even when he wasn’t catching. Ruiz’s slash line in those 16 games: .349/.394/.424. In short, he fared much better when he was able to focus solely on his offensive game. It’ll be quite interesting to see if Martinez finds more opportunities to use Ruiz as DH next year. And long-term, if there’s reason for the Nats to consider a position change.