I’ll break all this down. You’re going to get your thousand phrases. However typically a graph does many of the be just right for you, so let’s simply get to it. Right here’s the WAR put up by the catchers of each staff up to now this season:
Wait, sorry. Fallacious graph. That one solely has 29 groups. My mistake. Let me throw the Nationals on there actual fast:
So yeah. That adjustments issues a bit. What the hell is occurring in Washington DC? I’m undecided any of the million methods you can reply that query would offer excellent news, however this catcher state of affairs is its personal type of ugly.
Nationals backstops have put up -1.7 WAR this season, a full 1.5 worse than the Angels in twenty ninth place. These are usually not replacement-level killers. These are killers who dwell far beneath the earth’s floor, digging tunnels, crushing individuals with rocks, blowing them up — wait, I assume I’m simply describing Dig Dug, however you get the purpose. Washington’s catchers rank twenty ninth in wRC+ and thirtieth in baserunning and general offense. They rank Twenty eighth in catcher ERA. In accordance with Statcast, they rank thirtieth in blocking, thirtieth in framing, and – hey, have a look at that! – Thirteenth in caught stealing above common. So it’s not all unhealthy.
We have now staff positional splits going again to 2002, and over that interval, the 2009 Pirates and 2019 Rangers are the worst groups on file, with -3.1 WAR every. The Nationals catchers are on tempo for -3.8 WAR. They’re on tempo to interrupt the file earlier than Labor Day! Over our 24-season pattern, the Nationals’ -1.7 catcher WAR has already sunk to them to the 14th-worst complete ever recorded. They wanted simply 75 video games to place up extra adverse worth than the opposite 707 groups on the record. They dropped three spots simply final evening! That is actually execrable stuff. So let’s ask once more, what the hell is occurring behind the plate in DC? Right here’s the underside of the catcher leaderboard. Observe that in contrast to the numbers you’ve seen up to now, the desk under reveals complete WAR accrued by catchers, not simply WAR accrued whereas enjoying catcher:
2025 Catcher WAR (Non-)Leaderboard
Effectively, that’s one option to find yourself on the backside of the record. Solely two gamers have caught a sport for the Nationals this season, they usually rank second- and third-to-last in WAR. Keibert Ruiz has not been the worst offensive catcher in baseball, however as a result of he ranks sixth in plate appearances, he has accrued probably the most adverse offensive worth. His protection grades out because the worst amongst all catchers in keeping with Statcast’s fielding run worth, and fourth worst in keeping with DRS. Riley Adams is true behind him, because of a -19 wRC+ and his personal defensive struggles. Thus far this season, 28 completely different particular person catchers have hit extra residence runs than the Nationals have as a staff on the catcher place.
As for the opposite gamers on the record, Jacob Stallings was so unhealthy that he was launched by the Rockies. Endy Rodríguez and Ben Rortvedt have additionally misplaced their respective jobs. Maverick Handley was simply filling in and is again in Norfolk now that Gary Sánchez has returned from a wrist harm. You see the place I’m going right here. Virtually everybody on this record has been unhealthy over a tiny pattern. A few of them had been solely pressed into service due to an harm within the first place. The one gamers on this record who’re nonetheless receiving common enjoying time are Ruiz and the WAR-defying Martín Maldonado, whom we must always most likely be calling The Massive Intangible. Enjoying this badly will value you your spot – even over a small pattern, even in Colorado – however not in Washington.
The Nationals got here into the season ranked twenty seventh at catcher in our Positional Energy Rankings, with a projected 1.5 WAR. They’ve already raced previous that complete in the wrong way, however it’s not like this state of affairs was unforeseeable, and even unprecedented. Right here’s what Leo Morgenstern wrote about Ruiz on the time: “Right here’s the excellent news: Our projections assume Ruiz can hit like he did in 2023 and catch like he did in 2024. It isn’t an attractive profile, however it’s sufficient to advantage a beginning job on the huge league stage.”
As a substitute, Ruiz is hitting like he did in 2024, and his protection metrics have regressed to proper between the numbers he put up in 2023 and 2024. That’s a bummer, however it’s actually not a shock. Adams is experiencing some unhealthy batted ball luck – he’s most likely not going to maintain working a .103 BABIP – however he got here into the season with a profession 89 wRC+, and his protection has graded out roughly the identical because it did in earlier seasons. In different phrases, Ruiz and Adams are up to now behind their projections as a result of the projections assumed they’d regress to the imply, however they’ve as an alternative gotten even worse. Ruiz is at present on tempo to place up -2.0 WAR. In accordance with our database, that may be the Thirteenth-worst catcher season in main league historical past. And one way or the other, though he’s solely gotten into 20 video games, Adams is on tempo for the Twenty eighth-worst of all-time.
Sadly, for as far under alternative stage as Washington’s catchers have been, there aren’t any apparent replacements out there. When Eric Longenhagen ranked the Nationals high 32 prospects final Might, Drew Millas was the one catcher who made the record. He ranked seventh with a Future Worth of 45, however he’s at present working a 75 wRC+ in Triple-A Rochester. His 28.6% hard-hit price places him in simply the eighth percentile (amongst Triple-A gamers with at the least 150 PAs). As an entire, Washington’s catchers all through the minors are working a 101 wRC+, which ranks twenty fifth. They solely have one catcher above Single-A with a wRC+ above 75. Millas will most likely be up sooner or later. He’s had cups of espresso in every of the final two seasons, and even after his awful begin, the projection methods see him as higher than each Ruiz and Adams proper now.
The larger drawback is that there isn’t all that a lot purpose for the Nationals to vary course. Ruiz is within the third 12 months of a five-year deal (with membership choices for 2 extra years past that). The staff is tied to him, and publicly at the least, nonetheless considers him a part of the thrilling younger core that’s now beginning to coalesce. James Wooden, MacKenzie Gore, and CJ Abrams are thriving. Luis García Jr. simply put up a three-win season and is working good underlying numbers regardless of iffy outcomes. Dylan Crews remains to be ready for his personal topline numbers to catch as much as his spectacular peripherals. Brady Home simply arrived in Washington. However the Nationals are nonetheless nowhere close to being a aggressive staff. The supporting items aren’t there. The pitching employees isn’t there. No matter Dave Martinez’s current feedback in assist of his teaching employees, the staff additionally ranks at or close to the underside in each protection and baserunning.
The Nationals began the season with a 3% likelihood of creating the playoffs, they usually’re now right down to 0.1%. They’re nonetheless appearing like they don’t count on to compete, largely limiting their acquisitions to one-year offers for veterans they’ll flip on the deadline. Possibly basic supervisor Mike Rizzo will resolve it’s time to signal some gamers and make a run at it after the season ends, however this 12 months is already misplaced. The very best the staff can hope for on the catcher place proper now could be snagging an underperforming veteran on the waiver wire to take Adams’ place and Millas performing solidly in a call-up. And if Ruiz’s efficiency doesn’t flip round, they’re nearly sure to set a very ignominious file.