Washington Nationals news & notes: Keibert Ruiz close to return? CJ Abrams, power and more…

Notes and quotes on the Nationals’ catcher and shortstop…

KEIBERT RUIZ CLOSE TO RETURN:

Keibert Ruiz (influenza) hasn’t been in the Nationals’ lineup since April 8th when the club was in San Francisco, CA. Ruiz, 25, is close to returning, according to manager Davey Martinez, but the illness has taken a toll on the catcher, who told reporters he has lost significant weight over the past few weeks.

“He lost like 18-20 pounds,” Martinez said when he spoke the D.C. press corps on Sunday.

“He was sick. It stinks. I feel like we’re going through some rough stuff right now.”

Ruiz, for his part, said he was not too concerned with the weight loss.

“I feel good. I feel lighter,” he said, as quoted by MASN’s Mark Zuckerman on Sunday.

Photo by Jess Rapfogel/Getty Images

“So I’ve got to take the positives. I feel like I can run better, move better. And I gain weight fast, too. I’m going to eat a couple burgers.”

“I don’t if he wants to say that,” Martinez joked when informed of Ruiz’s comment about gaining weight quickly, “… but I guess he can. I wouldn’t want to.”

The manager and catcher talked about the plan going forward and the need to get Ruiz some reps in with all the time he’s missed at this point.

“If it’s me,” Ruiz said, “I feel ready to go. But they want me to play some games down there, just two games, and then come back.”

“We’re thinking about sending him to go play,” Martinez confirmed.

“We’re trying to figure out where to send him. All our teams are on the road. More than likely he’ll probably end up going to Erie to play, so we’re going to talk to him after the game.”

“It’s just getting your strength back,” the manager added of the importance of making sure Ruiz doesn’t rush back into things.

“That’s our biggest thing — not having him pull something, you know. So he’s been taking some swings, yesterday I watched him in the cage, he looked good.

Photo by Jess Rapfogel/Getty Images

“He’s throwing. He’s working with [Catching & Strategy Coach] Henry [Blanco] on the catching.

“One, being sick for anybody is not good. Two, being sick and have to catch nine innings, that’s tough. So I want to make sure he goes out and plays some games before he we get him back.”

ABRAMS IN THE ZONE:

“If CJ is swinging at strikes,” Nats’ GM and President of Baseball ops Mike Rizzo told The Sports Junkies last week, “… he’s as dangerous as anybody. And I think you’re seeing the maturation period of him, getting better pitches to hit, squaring more balls up – when he barrels a ball, as thin as he looks on TV, he’s put together very, very well with a lean, wiry strength that when he leverages the baseball on backspin he can hit it as far as anybody.”

Abrams was up to four home runs on the year at that point, with three doubles, two triples, and six walks in 14 games and 64 PAs. But it’s the power everyone is talking about.

“You see him in batting practice it’s like ‘Where is all of this power coming from?’” Rizzo continued.

“And he’s a guy that is a good player but wants to be great and we always love that type of attitude.”

Before Sunday’s game, the Nationals’ PR department noted that Abrams, who hit two more homers, another double, and a triple in the previous three games, began the series finale with the Astros leading all major league hitters with a .700 SLG on the year (though he fell to 2nd as of Thursday morning after a 1 for 4 game in which he hit a single and took a walk, scoring two runs in the 6-0 win).

Before the third of three with Houston in D.C., Abrams’ manager talked about all of the SLG from his shortstop early in 2024.

“Honestly, I think, one, we constantly talk to him about pitch selection,” Martinez said, “… understanding what balls you can drive, what balls you really hit good, and he’s doing better with that. The balls that he can drive he’s not missing. But just moving the baseball with him is really, really the key. He’s really putting the bat on the ball. He’s really trying to cut down on his strikeouts. But he’s getting his A-swing off, and that’s been really good for him right now.

“Look, he’s aggressive up there, and I love the fact that he loves to hit fastballs. So I said, ‘When you get a fastball and you think you can hit it, go ahead and let it go. More times than none you probably are going to hit it. Just understand which ones you want to hit.’

“He’s been a lot better at that.”