Latest news with #KeibertRuiz
Yahoo
10-07-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Nationals place pitcher on IL amid multiple roster moves
The post Nationals place pitcher on IL amid multiple roster moves appeared first on ClutchPoints. The Washington Nationals have been a disaster since the end of May. They ended the season's second month with a four-game winning streak and a 28-30 record. Since, they are 9-20 and tumbled into the last spot of the National League East. It is not going to get easier in the Nation's Capital, as they put a key pitcher on the shelf. The Nationals have placed Trevor Williams on the IL with an elbow injury, but have activated catcher Keibert Ruiz. Advertisement The Nationals have announced the following transactions today: Placed Trevor Williams on the 15-day Injured List (right elbow sprain). Recalled…Ryan Loutos from Triple-A Rochester. Reinstated Keibert Ruiz from the Injured List. Optioned Drew Millas to Triple-A Rochester,' the team's communications department announced. Williams has been with the Nationals since 2023, and his 2024 season is the best by far. He made 13 starts with a 2.03 ERA, the lowest of all pitchers on a bad Washington team. The season has not been as good for Williams, with a 6.21 ERA through 17 starts. His FIP of 4.08 indicates that there is some bad luck involved as well. But the Nats have not gotten the best out of Williams this year. Ruiz has not played since June 23 with a concussion. He joined the Nationals with a dismal June, hitting just .167 with a .367 OPS. The catcher was hitting .269 with a .661 OPS when May ended, so it has been a rough year overall for him. Now that he is back, they hope he can become a solid running mate for James Wood in the lineup. The Nationals open a home series against the Boston Red Sox on Friday. Both teams are in desperate need of wins, but a sweep wouldn't help Washington get to the postseason. The James Wood breakout season has been sensational, but not much else has been in Washington so far this year. Related: Nationals' James Wood accomplishes impressive feat vs. Tigers Related: How James Wood can join Juan Soto, Bryce Harper in Nationals history
Reuters
09-07-2025
- Sport
- Reuters
Nationals place C Keibert Ruiz (concussion) back on injured list
July 9 - Washington Nationals catcher Keibert Ruiz returned to the seven-day concussion list Tuesday after being active for two games. In a corresponding move, the Nationals recalled catcher Drew Millas from Triple-A Rochester. Right-hander Trevor Williams (right elbow sprain) was transferred from the 15- to the 60-day injured list, right-hander Eduardo Salazar was optioned to Rochester, and the team signed right-hander Luis Garcia to a one-year major league contract. Ruiz, who turns 27 on July 20, was struck in the head by a foul ball while sitting in the dugout during a 10-6 road win over the San Diego Padres on June 23. He went on the concussion IL on June 27, then was activated Friday. He played in two home losses to the Boston Red Sox on Friday and Saturday, going a combined 2-for-8 with two singles and one RBI. This season, Ruiz is batting .247 with two home runs and 25 RBIs in 68 games. The native of Venezuela is a career .248 hitter with 44 homers and 201 RBIs in 474 games for the Los Angeles Dodgers (2021-22) and Nationals (2022-present). The Nationals obtained Ruiz as part of a trade on July 30, 2021, that sent right-handed pitcher Max Scherzer and shortstop Trea Turner to the Dodgers. Salazar, 27, is 0-1 with an 8.38 ERA, 16 walks and 23 strikeouts in 29 innings over 30 relief appearances this season. Millas, 27, has hit .143 (1-for-7) with a double and one RBI in three games for Washington this season. He was hitting .247 with four homers and 25 RBIs in 52 games for Rochester. Williams, 33, surrendered a season-high seven runs in three innings last Wednesday during a 11-2 loss to the Detroit Tigers. He was 3-10 with a 6.21 ERA in 17 starts this season before landing on the IL. The Dodgers released Garcia, 38, on July 4. He was 2-0 with a 5.27 ERA, 16 walks and 24 strikeouts in 27 1/3 innings over 28 relief appearances for Los Angeles. He also was on the injured list with an abductor strain for a month. Garcia has a career 28-28 record with a 4.20 ERA, 247 walks and 523 strikeouts in 573 games (four starts) for seven major league teams in 13 seasons since 2013. He shares the same name as the Nationals' starting second baseman, 25-year-old Luis Garcia Jr. The Nationals also announced that right-hander Travis Sykora of Double-A Harrisburg -- ranked their No. 1 prospect and No. 30 overall by -- will not participate in the Futures Game. Sykora, 21, a third-round pick in 2023, has right lower triceps soreness and will be shut down from throwing for two to three weeks. Sykora was on the National League roster for the minor league showcase on Saturday at Atlanta's Truist Park as part of All-Star Game events. --Field Level Media
Washington Post
04-07-2025
- Sport
- Washington Post
The Nats are committed to Keibert Ruiz, for better or (so far) worse
The Washington Nationals are so desperate at catcher that, 10 days after a foul ball careened off a dugout wall and into his head, they brought back one of the worst catchers in baseball and inserted him right into the lineup without a trip to the minor leagues to get in a few at-bats and catch a few innings. Happy Fourth of July, Keibert Ruiz. Here's a mask and a glove and some bats. Go get 'em. 'We thought he was ready,' Manager Dave Martinez said, a sentiment seconded by General Manager Mike Rizzo after a dismal 11-2 loss to the Boston Red Sox. 'We really did.' What Ruiz looks like when he's ready vs. when he's not could be open to debate. He is an exceptionally polite, soft-spoken 26-year-old who clearly cares, the kind of player you root for. That can't hide the fact that his past season-and-a-half have been almost completely unproductive and certainly confidence-rattling. His at-bats are often noncompetitive. His defense is a liability. It can be hard to watch. 'We all believe in him,' Martinez said. Keep saying that. It might work. It's just getting harder. Ruiz is far from the Nationals' only problem. But he is among the most significant. Spend Friday at Nationals Park — or, really, most days at Nationals Park — and Ruiz doesn't come close to passing the eye test. In his first two at-bats, he struck out meekly, swinging through one Lucas Giolito fastball to end his first at-bat, a Giolito changeup to end the second. He pushed through a single in the eighth, the salvation in a 1-for-4 day. Defensively, he got a pitchout to try to gun down would-be base stealer Trevor Story — and didn't come close, leading shortstop CJ Abrams well to the first-base side of second. Any of the 37,355 at the yard on a lovely Independence Day could tell you: The Nats were bad as a whole, and Ruiz's return doesn't help them get better. 'Obviously, first at-bat, it was kind of weird seeing the ball, especially with the stuff that he has,' Ruiz said. ' … But after that, it was good. And after the sixth inning, the legs was getting a little bit heavier. But it was a good.' Awkward in the box for the first time up in a week-and-a-half? Makes sense. Heavy legs after not catching a full game for 10 days? Makes sense. Might a minor-league stint have allowed those understandable sensations to occur on a stage that didn't matter? 'Coming right to the big leagues was okay,' Ruiz said. ' … It wasn't like 15 days or a month. It was only like eight games.' This really isn't about whether some at-bats at Class AA would have helped Ruiz on Friday against the Red Sox. This is really about when and how Ruiz can ever help the Nationals. Of the 31 catchers with at least 150 plate appearances this season, Ruiz's .598 OPS entering Friday ranked 30th. (That dropped to .597 after Friday.) One hundred eighty-four hitters entered play Friday with at least 250 plate appearances. Just two had walked fewer times than Ruiz. The only catcher with worse offensive numbers: Patrick Bailey of the San Francisco Giants. Bailey, though, is among the best defensive catchers in the game. Among players who have caught at least 300 innings thus far, he leads in both Fangraphs's framing statistic, which measures how well catchers frame pitches for strikes, and the more all-encompassing defensive runs above average, which quantifies how well a player performs defensively relative to the average performance at his position, then weights the importance of that position. Of those 36 catchers with at least 300 innings behind the plate, Ruiz ranks 36th in framing and 36th in defensive runs above average. Put another way: He's last in both. So, he can't hit. But at least he can't field. Fingers crossed for the second half. That's where hope lies, because after a .584 OPS in the first half of 2024, Ruiz jumped to .662 thereafter. After posting a .639 OPS in the first half of 2023, he rose to .809 in the second. 'It's so funny that his second half, over the last couple of years, have been really good,' Martinez said. 'So, we just want to get him to focus on one, not chasing. The biggest thing for him is not chasing, get the ball up.' I don't have a count on how many times Martinez has said that over the years about Ruiz. The over-under would probably land around 125½. What to do? The Nationals' other options at catcher — Riley Adams, who remains in the majors, and Drew Millas, who was optioned back to Class AAA — are both hitting .143. Ruiz doesn't have options, so he can't be sent to the minor leagues without being exposed to a claim from other teams. Which begs the question: Who would claim him? The Nats are so married to Ruiz because they proposed to him during spring training of 2023 — and then rushed to the altar. The eight-year, $50-million deal they struck bought out all three of his arbitration years and his first two years of free agency, making him a National through 2030 with club options for the two seasons after that. Now, that contract will never strangle them financially: He makes $5.375 million this season, and never more than the $9.375 million he'll earn in 2029 and 2030 — unless the Nats pick up a $12 million option for 2031 or a $14 million option for 2032. What the contract does, though, is force the Nats to treat Ruiz like he's part of the solution, one of the players paving a road to a brighter future. They keep running him out there, even as he keeps failing to produce. Over the past two seasons, 178 players have at least 650 plate appearances. Just three have a worse OPS than Ruiz's .612. 'I just have to believe in myself,' Ruiz said. In the bottom of the ninth, with the game long since decided, Ruiz came to the plate with two down. He ripped a ball that wanted to get up the middle, but Red Sox second baseman David Hamilton ranged to his right, gloved it and gunned him down. With the game over, the Red Sox gathered in the middle of the diamond, exchanging high-fives. Ruiz walked toward the dugout, undoing his batting gloves, a shower in his immediate future, and an unknown second half of the season sprawling beyond that.
Al Arabiya
04-07-2025
- Sport
- Al Arabiya
Nationals place pitcher Trevor Williams on the injured list with an elbow sprain
The Washington Nationals placed starter Trevor Williams on the 15-day injured list with a right elbow sprain Friday, two days after the veteran right-hander gave up a season-high seven runs in an 11–2 loss to Detroit. Williams is 3–10 with a 6.21 ERA in 17 starts this season and is tied for second in the National League in losses. He agreed to a two-year, $14 million deal after going 6–1 with a 2.03 ERA last year despite being limited to 13 starts because of a strained muscle in his throwing arm. Washington recalled right-hander Ryan Loutos from Triple-A Rochester a day after demoting him. Loutos is 1–0 with a 13.50 ERA in eight games with the Los Angeles Dodgers and the Nationals this season. The Nationals also activated catcher Keibert Ruiz from the injured list and optioned catcher Drew Millas to Rochester. Ruiz had been sidelined with a concussion after getting hit by a foul ball on June 23. Millas hit .143 with an RBI in three games.
Associated Press
04-07-2025
- Sport
- Associated Press
Nationals place pitcher Trevor Williams on the injured list with an elbow sprain
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Washington Nationals placed starter Trevor Williams on the 15-day injured list with a right elbow sprain Friday, two days after the veteran right-hander gave up a season-high seven runs in an 11-2 loss to Detroit. Williams is 3-10 with a 6.21 ERA in 17 starts this season and is tied for second in the National League in losses. He agreed to a two-year, $14 million deal after going 6-1 with a 2.03 ERA last year despite being limited to 13 starts because of strained muscle in his throwing arm. Washington recalled right-hander Ryan Loutos from Triple-A Rochester, a day after demoting him. Loutos is 1-0 with a 13.50 ERA in eight games with the Los Angeles Dodgers and the Nationals this season. The Nationals also activated catcher Keibert Ruiz from the injured list and optioned catcher Drew Millas to Rochester. Ruiz had been sidelined with a concussion after getting hit by a foul ball on June 23. Millas hit .143 with an RBI in three games. ___ AP MLB:
