\u201cI went back home at night and feeling bad symptoms, headaches, kind of dizzy, throw up,\u201d said Ruiz, a Venezuela native who lives in Miami. \u201cI didn\u2019t sleep good. That was kind of scary because I have a family, I have two kids, and I want to enjoy them.\u201d<\/p>\n
With that saga behind Ruiz, the next step will be to turn around the performances that have led to concerns about his long-term future as Washington\u2019s backstop. The concussions were scary. But, with those issues in the rearview, can Ruiz recapture the form that made him the recipient of a long-term contract extension with the Nationals?<\/p>\n
\u201cWe need to make sure we get him everyday reps, make sure he feels good health-wise, which he does, and now it\u2019s just about going out and playing every day and going to be the guy we all know he can be,\u201d manager Blake Butera said. \u201cBut that just comes with reps and opportunity, and we\u2019re trying to give him a lot of that here in spring training.\u201d<\/p>\n
The climb back toward Ruiz\u2019s best appears steep. The concussions held him to just 68 games last year, and in that time he produced the worst numbers of his career. He finished with a .595 on-base-plus-slugging percentage, and his OPS+ was 69. (That\u2019s a measure in which 100 is league average, meaning Ruiz was 31 percentage points below the average major league batter.)<\/p>\n
Ruiz\u2019s bat has not risen to the level many hoped it would when Washington acquired him as a major piece of the trade that sent Max Scherzer and Trea Turner to the Los Angeles Dodgers. In four full seasons for the Nationals, Ruiz\u2019s highest OPS was .717 in 2023. <\/p>\n
His defense, too, has left much to be desired. In 2025, Statcast measured Ruiz among the worst defensive catchers in baseball \u2014 his blocking, framing and pop time were in the 10th percentile or worse.<\/p>\n
Ruiz said he was wary of being hit in the mask by a foul ball last season after his two concussions, but now with a modified mask and a new setup, he hopes to limit those issues.<\/p>\n
He remains on one knee, but his body is crouched lower. In that stance, Ruiz said, more foul balls will pass over his head.<\/p>\n
\u201cLooking at how many foul tips he\u2019s taken in the past, part of the reason why is how high his stance was,\u201d Butera said. \u201cWe\u2019re kind of fixing that a little bit. But also understanding that that\u2019s the catcher position. Like, there is a chance at all times, you\u2019re one foul tip away from something happening, right?\u201d<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/2HZASKNVHBBFFBUEQNTO5KHXPE.jpg\")
Ruiz, center, leaves the dugout after being hit by a foul ball during a June 23 game against the Padres. (Orlando Ramirez\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n