The Washington Nationals have agreed to an eight-year, $50 million contract extension with 24-year-old catcher Keibert Ruiz. The Nationals expect to announce the deal sometime Saturday, per MASN Sports’ Mark Zuckerman.
The deal ties Ruiz with the Nationals through the 2032 season. Ruiz had five more years of club control before he would become a free agent. However, the extension keeps him under contract beyond that. The deal eliminates two years of pre-arbitration, and three years of free arbitration.
The final two years of the deal, 2031, and 2032 are club options.
The Nationals acquired Ruiz in 2021 as part of the trade that sent former ace Max Scherzer and shortstop Trea Turner to the Los Angeles Dodgers. Washington is in the midst of a rebuild after also Juan Soto to the San Diego Padres in 2022.
Ruiz has been identified as one of the core pieces to the Nats’ rebuild along with 22-year-old infield duo, shortstop CJ Abrams, second baseman Luis Garcia, and a host of prospects waiting to be called up.
Keibert Ruiz joins Ryan Zimmerman and Jayson Werth as the only Nationals’ position players to sign a deal of at least six years since the club moved to Washington in 2005.
Ruiz changed agents several weeks prior to the extension agreement. He had been represented by superagent Scott Boras. However, Ruiz parted ways with Boras and joined the Octagon agency.
Boras has represented a number of Nationals players, including Scherzer, Soto, and Stephen Strasburg. Boras’s negotiation tactics have led to player-heavy deals, and the eventual departures of two integral parts of the Nationals 2019 World Series title, Soto, and Anthony Rendon.
Soto turned down multiple mega offers from the Nationals before being traded to San Diego. Boras was at the forefront of negotiations, and some fans in D.C. blame his negotiation tactics for Soto’s departure.
It’s unclear if Ruiz’s separation from Boras progressed the extension with the Nationals, but it’s worth noting. Interestingly enough, Garcia also recently parted ways with Boras to join Octagon. Could the circumstances signal the Nats locking up another young piece?
Playing in his first full season in the majors, Ruiz hit .251/.313/.360 with seven home runs and 6 RBI in 443 plate appearances. He had a strikeout rate of 11.6% and a 6.7% walk rate.
The Nationals have yearned for a long-term answer at catcher. Wilson Ramos was the closest solution. Yet, injuries including a torn ACL in 2012 plagued his seven-year stint with Washington. The Nats have used veteran plug-ins through the years. Now, Ruiz represents a young long-term catcher.
