Keibert Ruiz Is the X Factor for the Nationals to Surprise in 2025

The Nationals are one of baseball's highest-variance teams. How their season goes will be decided large-in-part by their highest-variance player.

It’s a big year for Keibert Ruiz. While the former top prospect is still very on in the long-term extension he signed before 2023, the club has invested real draft capital in multiple catchers over the past season and in what will seemingly be the final season before legitimate playoff contention is considered the standard.

If Ruiz repeats his 2024 season, it’s doubtful he’ll be cut outright, but the starting catching job will likely be handed elsewhere for 2026.

But there’s reason to believe a bounceback is possible for Ruiz. The 26-year-old famously battled an early-season illness that saw him lose 20 pounds before being thrusted back into near-every day action without so much as a ramp-up period at AAA.