While the Nats won last night, there was a scary moment in the fourth inning. On an emergency hack, Josh Bell lined a foul ball directly into the Nationals dugout. Unfortunately the ball caught Keibert Ruiz on the side of his head.
Ruiz immediately exited the game. After the game, manager Davey Martinez said that Ruiz had to go to the hospital to get a CAT scan. While he said Ruiz was alert and coherent, he clearly was worried about the situation.
After getting hit in the head with a foul ball, Keibert Ruiz is getting a CT scan off-site.
Ruiz was coherent after it happened, which is obviously good news. Had a lump on his head. No update yet, but Martinez said he’s “a little bit concerned.”
— Spencer Nusbaum (@spencernusbaum_) June 24, 2025
Early reports are indicating that Ruiz is going to be headed to the 7-day concussion IL. In his place, the Nationals are going to call up Drew Millas.
Source: Nats are expecting at the very least to have to place Keibert Ruiz on the 7-day concussion IL and call-up Drew Millas from Triple-A. Ruiz was getting a CT-Scan after he was in the dugout and hit by a foul ball in the head.
— Talk Nats (@TalkNats) June 24, 2025
Millas has had some big league run in the past, appearing in 31 games over 2 seasons. He has held his own in that time. Millas provides a level of athleticism and defense that neither Ruiz nor Riley Adams bring to the table.
Millas has not had the strongest season in AAA, but is heating up lately. The switch hitter has performed well against right handed pitching, while not being able to do much against southpaws.
It will be interesting to see how the playing time is divided between Adams and Millas while Ruiz is out. Adams is a dreadful 6/62 at the plate this year. Would the Nats give him a starters workload or will it be more of a 50/50 time share.
For Ruiz, we are hoping he is alright first and foremost. Assuming he can come back healthy, this could end up being a blessing in disguise in some ways. After a good start to the season, Ruiz’s production has taken a nose dive. The defense has not been good and the at bat quality is poor.
Hopefully this unfortunate incident can give him a chance to refocus and get back on his game. Ruiz has had a heavy workload this season, so the rest will not be a bad thing.
I am also interested to see if the Nats make a change at the backup spot if Millas does well. Despite his struggles, the Nats have remained loyal to Adams, but that could change if Millas plays well.
The Nationals have had historically bad production from the catcher position, so something needs to give. We are wishing Keibert Ruiz a speedy recovery and hopefully he can come back better than ever.