Final week, the Nationals agreed to an eight-year extension with catcher Keibert Ruiz that assured $50MM. Jon Heyman of the New York Submit reported the specifics of the deal this night. The 24-year-old will obtain a $3MM signing bonus, with wage breakdowns as follows:
$1MM in 2023
$6MM in 2024
$5MM yearly between 2025-27
$7MM in 2028
$9MM yearly between 2029-30
Stories final week indicated the deal contained membership choices masking the 2031 and ’32 seasons, although the worth of these provisions hadn’t beforehand been recognized. Heyman now pegs the choice values at $12MM and $14MM, respectively. There aren’t any buyouts on the choices. That construction takes the utmost worth of Ruiz’s deal to 10 years, $76MM if each membership choices are exercised.
Relying on the membership choices, Ruiz is now set to hit free company for the primary time observe his age-31, -32, or -33 season. The Nationals clearly imagine that he can blossom into the prime quality two-way catcher his standing as a former prime prospect would indicate. In trade for relinquishing as many as 5 would-be free agent years, Ruiz locks in a wholesome payday after accruing simply over one 12 months of service time since his massive league debut in 2020 with the Dodgers.
So far, Ruiz has appeared in 143 video games, slashing .255/.315/.374 in his 537 plate appearances within the majors. That slash line is nice for a barely beneath common 93 wRC+, although it’s value noting that determine truly makes him a barely above common hitter for the catcher place. Ruiz has been a barely beneath common catcher defensively in line with each DRS (-5) and Statcast’s framing metric, which places him within the twenty third percentile of certified catchers. Ruiz ought to get loads of alternative to develop his abilities on the rebuilding Nationals, the place he’s slated to be the first catcher with fellow teen Riley Adams servings as his backup.
