After "crazy couple of days," Adams hopes to stay in D.C.

Riley Adams was in Worcester, Mass., on Thursday, preparing to play that night for the Blue Jays' Triple-A affiliate against Red Sox prospects, when he learned he needed to get to Rochester, N.Y., instead. He had just been traded to the Nationals for closer Brad Hand.

After an emotional goodbye with his longtime teammates from the Blue Jays' system, the 25-year-old catcher made his way to Rochester, and on Friday he was in the Red Wings lineup, going 0-for-3 with two walks. And he was ready to start getting settled into his new surroundings when two more unexpected developments occurred, one of them terrifying, the other uplifting.

In the first inning of Saturday night's game in Rochester, Lehigh Valley's Daniel Brito collapsed on the field and suffered a major medical emergency. That night's game was called off, as was Sunday's. Then on Monday night, Adams got a call from manager Matt LeCroy with more news.

"You might need to start driving to D.C.," LeCroy told him.

So it was that Adams found himself packing his bags again and hitting the road at 6 a.m. Tuesday, bound for Washington, where he hopes to now have a chance to stay for a while.

"It's been a crazy couple of days," he said. "I'm still trying to get my bearings everywhere."

The third of the Nationals' 12 prospects acquired at the trade deadline to be added to the big league roster, Adams did get a chance to debut Tuesday night when he struck out as a pinch-hitter in the bottom of the ninth of a 5-4 loss to the Phillies. He'll get a chance to play a full game either tonight or Thursday, as manager Davey Martinez tries to give the rookie a chance to share playing time with Tres Barrera behind the plate in what could be an open competition for one of the two catching jobs available heading into 2022.

Keibert Ruiz, the top prospect acquired from the Dodgers in the Max Scherzer-Trea Turner blockbuster deadline deal, is going to get a look sometime this season, but for now is catching in Rochester. (He homered in his debut Tuesday night.) Assuming Ruiz is the designated No. 1 catcher entering next year, either Barrera or Adams could be his primary backup.

For Adams to make his case, he'll need to show both the offensive skills that made him Toronto's top power-hitting prospect and the "catch-and-throw" skills Martinez touted Tuesday.

"Obviously, both sides are important, but honestly, for me, the catching side comes first," Adams said. "I pride myself on my catching. I want to create the best relationship I can with these pitchers. Catching comes first for me. That's the most important part. There's not much debate there. Hitting is second to catching. I want to get back there and do the best I can for these pitchers."

Adams is a physical presence behind the plate. At 6-foot-4, 246 pounds, he's far from the prototypical-looking catcher. Some in the industry have doubted his ability to enjoy a long career behind the plate without breaking down, but he's determined to do it.

"When I got drafted, there was always a huge question mark on my size, and if my body could hold up catching," Adams said. "When you go from college, where you're catching three times a week to pro ball, where if you're a starter you're catching four or five times a week, there's a lot of question marks in there. But I think throughout my years of pro ball, I've kind of proven to everybody that the body can hold up.

"I take a lot of pride in the offseason in making sure my body can withstand the full season and be able to hold up. I know I have a big body, but I think also there's a lot of benefits to having a big body back there. Just the presence and the size for a pitcher to look at. I try my best to stay as flexible as I can, try to save the knees as long as possible."