Washington Nationals 2025 Season

THE LEAD

With the Nats having scored a mere dozen runs since their ten-run first-inning outburst in the desert - eight games ago - Mike Rizzo made a move to try and rejuvenate the moribund offense, recalling Andrés Chaparro and sending Nasim Nuñez back to Rochester. While I also would have liked to see them call up Brady House to play third base every day, I like both ends of this move. Chaparro has looked very hitterish ever since the Nats acquired him from Arizona right before last year’s trade deadline, and he should be a big shot in the arm against southpaws specifically; Josh Bell can’t hit lefties much anymore and Chaparro has already hit four minor league bombs against them in fewer than twenty plate appearances. Nuñez, meanwhile, needs to play every day rather than be a twenty-sixth man; I imagine that he will see some time at second, third, and in center field in addition to regular innings at shortstop in Rochester. He is a utility man at the end of the day, but he also needs regular at-bats to continue developing as a hitter (after barely playing last year as a Rule 5 draftee), and he won’t get those at the end of the Washington bench.

 Washington Nationals 2025 Season

Game Recap

This is a very frustrating offense to watch when they’re cold, all first-pitch groundouts, popouts, or four-pitch whiffs. Yesterday the Rangers opted for a bullpen game, and the Nats obliged them by letting their opener pitch into the fourth inning on 60 pitches, then only saw 29 over five further outs from his replacement. Two players over-slid second base for outs on the base paths, and although they tied the score 2-2 in the bottom of the fourth they immediately coughed up the lead the next inning thanks largely to first baseman Nathaniel Lowe having an airborne throw from Nuñez clank off the palm of his glove for what should have been the second out. It was another listless game in a week that’s been largely full of them.

 STORY TYPE

Can’t Catch a Break

We need to talk about Keibert Ruiz. For the first time in his four-plus seasons as a National, Ruiz got off to a hot start with the bat, hitting .373/.439/.529 through the first fifteen games of the season - fourteen of which he started - and homering in each of the Nats’ first two games of the season. Since the Nats flew to Pittsburgh for the middle leg of their road trip against the dregs of the National League? Ruiz is hitting .217/.241/.268 with zero home runs, a stretch in which he has hit second, third, or (mostly) cleanup 25 times in 41 games. His Statcast page is pretty discouraging; sure, he almost never strikes out, but he has one of the slowest bats in the business and virtually never barrels the baseball (while he swings at almost anything within a foot of the strike zone because his contact skills are very good). May I remind you that Ruiz is the only person to whom the Nationals are contractually obligated beyond 2026? He is due just under $37 million over the five seasons following this one, with team options for 2031 and 2032.

Even though Ruiz doesn’t turn 27 until next month, he kind of is what he is at this point - neither his hitting nor his defense have changed much over the course of his tenure here, and he’s played a lot, currently 26th among all active catchers in games caught despite his age (Cal Raleigh is the only under-30 catcher above him, and he’s still two years older than Ruiz). A big part of the problem is that Ruiz plays too frequently, as Davey Martinez rides him into the ground by Memorial Day every single season. If he were as good as Raleigh or JT Realmuto or Salvy Pérez, sure, but Ruiz has been pretty close to replacement level throughout his career thus far - both he and Riley Adams would benefit from a more equal timeshare situation. This year Ruiz has started 52 of the Nats’ 65 games behind the dish and pinch-hit in three more, a 130-game pace that would have ranked third in baseball last year behind Raleigh and Shea Langeliers (Ruiz caught 116 games last but served as the DH in 10 more, something he has yet to do this year because of the presence of Josh Bell).

What should the Nationals do about this situation? That they continue to bury Adams on the bench speaks volumes about how they think of him, and Drew Millas has spit the bit just about every time he has been recalled from AAA Rochester. The front office tacitly acknowledged that perhaps Ruiz is not a long-term answer behind the plate last summer when they spent two of their first four draft picks on catchers (Caleb Lomavita with a first-round compensation pick that they acquired from the Royals in the Hunter Harvey trade and Kevin Bazzell in the third round), plus gave fifth-round money to fifteenth-round pick Sir Jamison Jones to sign instead of going to Oklahoma State, thus addressing depth at a position that has been a major weak spot for organizational development since the franchise moved here from Montreal. Lomavita is thriving in high-A (.276/.356/.376) despite Wilmington being a graveyard for right-handed hitters, and I would bet the over on him moving up to AA Harrisburg this summer. Bazzell did quite well in his low-A cameo last year but has struggled in his first full season this year, while Jones is holding his own in the complex league and should move north to Fredericksburg when that season ends in a few weeks. Should Lomavita force the issue, perhaps as soon as next year, Ruiz’s contract is cheap enough to be tradable to any team who needs a catcher and isn’t looking for a world-beating upgrade. It’s unfortunate that he does not seem to be turning a corner, but this is the way these things go sometimes, and rather than a core piece of the rebuild Ruiz is looking more and more expendable with each rollover grounder to second base.

AD

Wake up with Peet’s Coffee and the Morning Briefing

Peet’s Coffee is crafted for those who crave delicious coffee without the brewing; this versatile blend holds its own in any creation. Silky-smooth and delicious, hot or cold, it takes just one tablespoon and a couple of moments to whip up whatever cup you're craving. Order yours today to take advantage of their limited-time intro price.

 WHAT WE THINK THE NATIONALS FRONT OFFICE IS READING

Speed Reads

📌 Gauging the RP Trade Market (MLB)

📌 Changes Coming For Strider? (Fangraphs)

📌 Could Machado Be the Last 3000-Hit Player? (The Athletic)