Ruiz is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Marlins.
After a recent stretch in which he started behind the plate five times in six games, Ruiz will cede catching duties to Drew Millas for the second day in a row. Ruiz delivered his best game of the season earlier in the week when he produced a pair of doubles and a home run in Thursday's win over the Twins, but he's still sitting on a lowly .608 OPS in 2026.
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Nationals' Keibert Ruiz: Resting Saturday
Rotowire
Ruiz isn't in the lineup for Saturday's game against the Marlins.
Ruiz will grab a seat on the bench Saturday after going 0-for-3 during a win in Friday's series opener. Drew Millas will handle catching duties and bat eighth.
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Nationals' Keibert Ruiz: Season-best effort in win
Rotowire
Ruiz went 3-for-4 with a home run, two doubles, four RBI and three runs scored in Thursday's 7-5 win over the Twins.
The 27-year-old catcher enjoyed his most productive day at the dish this year, knocking the ball all over the yard. Ruiz recorded a season high in hits, runs and RBI on Thursday en route to totaling a season-most eight bases. Over 70 at-bats, he's still hitting just .214 with two homers, seven doubles, 13 RBI and seven runs scored as Washington's primary backstop.
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Nationals' Keibert Ruiz: Riding pine Wednesday
Rotowire
Ruiz is out of the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Twins.
After starting each of the last three games and going 2-for-10 with a double over that stretch, Ruiz will be rested Wednesday. The Nationals will go with Drew Millas behind the dish.
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Nationals' Keibert Ruiz: Taking seat in favor of Millas
Rotowire
Ruiz is out of the lineup for Thursday's game against the Mets.
Ruiz will hit the bench for the fourth time in six games while the Nationals go with Drew Millas behind the dish. Though the playing time has been tilting in Millas' favor of late, Ruiz has been the better producer at the plate by a narrow margin. Ruiz has turned in a .516 OPS over 58 plate appearances, while Millas has provided a .422 OPS across 55 plate appearances.
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Nationals' Keibert Ruiz: Out of Nationals' lineup
Rotowire
Ruiz is absent from the lineup for Friday's game against the White Sox.
It's been a virtually even split in playing time at catcher between Ruiz and Drew Millas. After Ruiz started each of the previous two contests, it will be Millas behind the dish in Friday's series opener.
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Nationals' Keibert Ruiz: Sitting as timeshare continues
Rotowire
Ruiz is out of the lineup for Monday's game against Atlanta.
Ruiz started consecutive games April 10 and 11, but since then, he and Drew Millas have resumed alternating turns behind the dish like they have throughout the season. Though he's the more established of the two backstops, Ruiz has cobbled together a middling .220/.250/.366 slash line for the season and will likely need to improve upon on that production in order to earn a larger share of the starting opportunities.
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Nationals' Keibert Ruiz: Excluded from lineup Thursday
Rotowire
Ruiz is not in the lineup for Thursday's game in Pittsburgh.
Ruiz and Drew Millas have had a fairly even timeshare at catcher this season, and it will be Millas behind the dish for Thursday's matinee. The switch-hitting Ruiz has slashed a mere .182/.200/.333 in the early going this season.
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Nationals' Keibert Ruiz: Idle Sunday
Rotowire
Ruiz is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Brewers.
After alternating the starts at catcher between Ruiz and Drew Millas in their first 12 games of the season, the Nationals broke that trend this weekend. Ruiz ended up starting behind the dish Friday and Saturday, going 1-for-5 with a double and a run between those games. Though he'll give way to Millas on Sunday, Ruiz's back-to-back starts could signal that the Nationals may be willing to hand him a larger share of the workload.
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Nationals' Keibert Ruiz: Part of catching timeshare
Rotowire
Ruiz is out of the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Cardinals.
Ruiz remains part of a timeshare at catcher with Drew Millas, as the two backstops have alternated starts behind the plate through the Nationals' first 12 games. Neither player has done much to separate himself from the other, with Ruiz posting a .563 OPS to Millas' .509.
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Nationals' Keibert Ruiz: On bench Saturday
Rotowire
Ruiz isn't in the lineup for Saturday's game against the Dodgers, Mark Zuckerman of NatsJournal.com reports.
The Nationals appear to be content alternating between Ruiz and Drew Millas behind the dish, and Saturday marks the latter's turn to join the starting nine.
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Nationals' Keibert Ruiz: Taking seat Wednesday
Rotowire
Ruiz is out of the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Phillies.
The Nationals have divvied up the work evenly between their two catchers to begin the season, with both Ruiz and Drew Millas drawing three starts apiece. Ruiz has gotten on base in just two of his first 12 plate appearances, though he delivered a two-run home run in Sunday's 6-3 win over the Cubs.
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Nationals' Keibert Ruiz: Out of Monday's lineup
Rotowire
Ruiz is not in the lineup for Monday's game in Philadelphia.
Ruiz and Drew Millas have split starts at catcher in the early going, as Millas will get the call in Monday's series opener. Both of the switch-hitting Ruiz's starts have come against left-handed pitching, though that seems more like happenstance than a trend that will continue.
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Nationals' Keibert Ruiz: Not starting Saturday
Rotowire
Ruiz isn't in the lineup for Saturday's game against the Cubs, Mark Zuckerman of NatsJournal.com reports.
Ruiz will grab a seat on the bench after going 1-for-4 with a run scored in Thursday's win. Drew Millas will fill in as Washington's backstop and bat second.
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Nationals' Keibert Ruiz: Set to start at catcher
Rotowire
Ruiz will be the Nationals' starting catcher to begin the season, Jessica Camerato and Paige Leckie of MLB.com report.
The 27-year-old switch hitter could get pushed by prospect Harry Ford later in the year, but at least to begin the campaign, Ford will be at Triple-A. Ruiz has seen his offense decline significantly since a career-best 2023 in which he posted 18 homers and a .717 OPS over 136 games, and if he isn't able to rebound, it wouldn't be a surprise to see him lose his starting job over the summer. Ruiz has managed just a .184/.295/.289 slash line in 16 spring games, albeit with a 5:5 BB:K.
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Nationals' Keibert Ruiz: Cleared of concussion restrictions
Rotowire
Ruiz has been cleared of any concussion symptoms to begin spring training, Jessica Camerato of MLB.com reports.
The 27-year-old was limited to only 68 games last season after being struck in the head by a foul ball in late June, but Ruiz's offensive numbers were lagging even prior to the concussion issues that cost him the final three months of 2025. He'll compete in camp with Harry Ford, acquired from the Mariners in the Jose Ferrer trade this offseason, for the top job behind the plate with the Nationals.
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Nationals' Keibert Ruiz: Competing for starting spot
Rotowire
Ruiz (concussion) will compete with Harry Ford for the starting catcher job heading into the 2026 season, Jessica Camerato of MLB.com reports.
Camerato states that it's not clear whether Ruiz is back at 100 percent after missing significant time a season ago due to a concussion, but the team should have more information on his status once he reports to spring training. Ruiz has had a firm handle on the starting catching gig over the last four seasons with Washington, but he'll be challenged by one of the Nationals' recently acquired prospects in Ford.
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Nationals' Keibert Ruiz: Continuing to prepare for return
Rotowire
The Nationals announced Monday that Ruiz (concussion) will continue to participate in baseball activities this week, though it's unclear if he'll return from the 7-day injured list before the end of the season, Spencer Nusbaum of The Washington Post reports.
The organization will likely wait and see how Ruiz fares in his workouts over the next few days before deciding on his next steps. Ruiz is the midst of his second stint on the injured list due to concussions and was pulled off a rehab assignment earlier this month after experiencing renewed symptoms.
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Nationals' Keibert Ruiz: Won't return this weekend
Rotowire
Ruiz (concussion) will remain on his rehab assignment through the weekend, Andrew Golden of The Washington Post reported Friday.
Ruiz is working his way back from a concussion he sustained in early July and is nearing reinstatement from the IL. The catcher is slated to catch seven innings Friday, DH on Saturday and then catch a full nine innings Sunday. Given his progression, it wouldn't be surprising to see Ruiz back with the Nationals early next week.
Ruiz (concussion) is ramping up baseball activities and is expected to begin a minor-league rehab assignment soon, Bobby Blanco of MASNSports.com reported Friday.
Ruiz started taking swings in batting practice last week, a significant stride in his recovery from a concussion he sustained in early July. The catcher will ramp up baseball activities this weekend, and the expectation is that he'll be cleared to begin a rehab assignment soon. In the meantime, Riley Adams and C.J. Stubbs will handle catching duties.
