Nats uncertain how Avila's return will affect catching rotation

With two young catchers playing well on the active roster, a veteran nearing his return from the 10-day injured list and a top prospect knocking on the door at Triple-A Rochester, the Nationals' catching situation is one of the more interesting storylines to follow for the remainder of the season.

After four straight games behind the plate, Riley Adams gives way to Tres Barrera, who starts today against the Brewers for the first time in a week. Even though Adams has played more recently and has found more success at the plate than Barrera, manager Davey Martinez has been happy with the way both of his catchers have played since sharing the load. Especially with the way they've handled the pitching staff as young catchers.

But the impending return of Alex Avila from the injured list could change how Martinez utilizes the backstops he has available, and the skipper is still unsure of how that will work.

"Yeah, definitely gonna have some conversations about that when he's ready," Martinez said of Avila's return during his pregame Zoom session with reporters. "You know, for the most part, he understands what we're going through right now and I want to see some of the young guys play. But with that being said, he also handles our pitching staff fairly well. So I might want to catch some of these guys and get his thoughts on how we can get these guys better. He's very experienced as a catcher back there. But we'll figure things out, and when he gets back here, for right now, like you said, Riley and Tres have done a great job and they're doing really well, so I want to continue to give them the opportunity."

Avila has been on the injured list with strains in both of his calves since the beginning of July after an emergency start at second base. The veteran has ramped up his running over the past couple of weeks and needs to - excuse the pun - clear that hurdle before officially returning.

"He's getting better. He ran about 70 percent yesterday," Martinez said. "So he's good. He's trying to get ready. We're hoping that he'll get a little better here and he'll start getting things rolling pretty quickly now that he is able to run a little bit. Hopefully, it won't take him that much longer.

After Avila is cleared to resume baseball activities, a conversation will be had between him and Martinez, who is unsure if the catcher would want to go on a rehab assignment or jump right back into the Nationals lineup.

"Well, like I said, when he's about ready to play, I'll sit down with him and we'll come up with a game plan for moving forward," Martinez said. "I don't know. As of right now, he might want to go get some at-bats, but we haven't really talked about that. I just want to make sure that he's healthy."

Then there's the Keibert Ruiz factor, as the Nats' top prospect is waiting in the wings at Triple-A Rochester. Major league rosters expand to 28 players in September, and Ruiz has eight big league games under his belt already, including six this year.

It is unlikely the Nationals will carry four catchers, as even three seems like more than enough. So they will have to face three questions entering the season's final month: Do they give Ruiz more major league experience before season's end? Will Adams or Barrera lose playing time if they do? And do they allow Avila to block any of their three young catchers while playing on an expiring contract to end a season that is now focusing on the development of young players?