Ruiz, Nats celebrate rare long-term extension

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. – Keibert Ruiz reported for his second spring training with the Nationals early last month, focused on making significant improvements to his game both at and behind the plate. The thought of leaving town at the end of camp with an eight-year, $50 million extension never crossed his mind.

And what was his first reaction upon getting the offer from the team?

“My first? I said yes right away!” Ruiz said this afternoon as everyone who assembled for a press conference at The Ballpark of the Palm Beaches laughed. “But we waited a little bit.”

Whether he said it right away or days later, the fact Ruiz said yes at all made this one of the most significant moments in Nationals history. After years spent trying to convince young star players to agree to extensions, this 24-year-old catcher became the first to actually commit to the organization long-term at such an early stage of his career.

Ruiz, who wouldn’t have been eligible for arbitration until 2025 or free agency until 2028, now knows he’s going to be a National through at least the 2030 season. And he could be here even longer than that, because the new contract includes club options for both 2031 and 2032.

It’s the kind of package the team desperately wanted Juan Soto and Bryce Harper and Anthony Rendon and Trea Turner to sign in previous years. None were willing to go through with it, believing it was better to wait it out and let the system work to their benefit. All are now playing baseball elsewhere.

“This is the first one we’ve ever got done, yeah,” general manager Mike Rizzo said. “But it wasn’t the first attempt at it. So, yeah, it was satisfying.”

Satisfying, yes. But also a little scary. Ruiz has hardly established himself as the kind of elite player those predecessors were. He has actually been part of a World Series celebration as a member of the Dodgers’ taxi squad during the 2020 pandemic postseason, but he’s played in only 143 major league games, 135 of those as a member of the Nationals following his July 2021 acquisition in the mega-trade that sent Turner and Max Scherzer to Los Angeles for four prospects.

The Venezuelan native hit a modest .251/.313/.360 with 22 doubles, seven homers and 36 RBIs in his first full big league season. But he did throw out 22 baserunners from behind the plate, second-most among all MLB catchers. And he has long displayed the bat control skills to be considered a strong offensive catcher, skills he and the Nats believe will continue to grow as he gains more experience.

If Ruiz does develop into the All-Star some have projected, the Nationals will have themselves a steal. If he never realizes his potential or gets hurt, they will have made a foolish decision to lock him up years before they were under any obligation to do so.

“Where there’s a long-term deal on the table, the team has a little bit of risk there. And the player has a little bit of risk that he’s locked in for that many years,” Rizzo said. “So I think that those are the best deals, when there’s a little uneasiness on both sides.”

Not that the Nationals are uneasy about Ruiz’s current or future standing within the lineup or the clubhouse.

“The day we met, the first words that came out of his mouth were: ‘I’m here to work. I’m here to get better. Teach me how to get better,’” manager Davey Martinez said. “That’s all we can ask from players.”

Ruiz isn’t just the first pre-arbitration player to sign a long-term extension in Nationals history, he’s also the first player to sign anything beyond a two-year deal with the club since the Lerner family began exploring the possibility of selling the franchise last spring.

That ownership uncertainty has hovered over everything the last year, and people both inside and outside the organization have wondered if long-term financial commitments with anyone were even possible until the larger matter is resolved. Rizzo, though, insisted today ownership’s uncertain future played no role in negotiations with Ruiz and acknowledged comparable deals with other young building blocks are possible as well.

“I think that there’s no limit to what we can pursue and what we can do organizationally,” the GM said. “The specifics are: We sign the person as well as the player. I think that we’ve got a number of candidates that fit that description.”

Ruiz, along with second baseman Luis García (who was among the teammates, coaches and staffers who attended today’s press conference), recently left Boras Corp. and signed with Octagon to represent them. The Nationals hadn’t been able to convince any of their previous Boras clients (except for Stephen Strasburg) to sign extensions. They may believe they have a better chance of success with players represented by other agents.

Ruiz’s priorities were pretty clear as he discussed his motivations to agree to today’s deal. Asked the first item he plans to buy after signing the contract, he said: “I want to buy a house for my family, mom and dad, and just keep them safe.”

For a 24-year-old Venezuelan catcher, the significance of a $50 million contract extends well beyond his immediate reach. He called his parents to tell them the news and “we started crying together.”

“I’ve been working my whole life for this moment,” he said. “And you’ve just got to keep going. This is, for me, just the start. I’ve got to take responsibility and help this team win.”