Offseason Position Discussion : C

The Nats ended last season with a choice.  Ruiz looked cooked. Millas looked maybe passable. Was it time to cut bait on Ruiz and let Millas have a go at it, maybe with a cheap veteran back-up?  The powers that be thought not, likely citing the fact the Nats still owed Ruiz a decent chunk of money (for them), and decided to go with a platoon for 2026. 

That platoon looked like dead men walking in April but in May Ruiz got hot and late in the month took over as the starter. He'd follow with a good June as well and despite a tepid July came back with a good finish to hold the job for the whole season and set up 2027.  Meanwhile Millas never got going and was replaced by trade return Harry Ford who also proceeded to stink.   

Presumed Plan : 

I'd bet in how the season ended.  Ruiz starter, Ford back-up. 

Reasoning behind Presumed Plan : 

As we said in years before last with Ruiz, if you have a usable catcher you use him.  Catcher is a hard position to fill.  After last year there is no reason not to have Ruiz start again. Unless for some reason you get rid of him he's the starter

The back-up is a little more muddled as Millas blew his chance and Ford did not make his own claim.  There are two interesting players in the minors, the out of nowhere Max Romero and the drafted hoping he would hit and he did last year Kevin Bazzell who could see time at the position next year. There's also Caleb Lomavita who if you asked 6 months ago who was the future of catching for the Nationals would have gotten the nod.  He's a ways off though.  

The team has shown itself to be more slow and steady so I think they'd like to see if Ford really isn't ready for primetime and how "real" Romero is with more time in AAA. Romero full time in AAA though blocks Bazzell into regular AA duty to give him ABs keeping him further off.  The line is forming.  

My Take :  

Yeah sure.  I think the Ruiz start is an easy call. You have a catcher. That catcher can play.  Let's not get cute here.  

I don't see any reason to continue with Millas who at 28 last year was "starter or bust" and busted. 

I would like Romero over Ford. Ford's claim to the back-up spot is mostly inertia. He was highly thought of as a prospect and drafted in the first round then proceeded to shine in rookie ball. After that he handled every promotion but never wowed. You could say he needs time to adjust and that might be true. You could also say we're not quite sure what his level is and that is also likely true. An honest evaluation of 2026 though says Romero deserves the time in the majors. This might be different if Romero was a well thought of prospect who's been groomed for years to take over the starting role. The type of guy you want to enter the majors with everything working for him. He's not. He's a flash in the pan you want to see if he'll catch into a fire. You don't need to protect guys like this. Test him out. See what happens. Maybe you get lucky. If Ford is going to be good he'll do well in AAA and you can worry about the "too many good player" problem* later. 

*which is often hypothesized and used to explain moves fans are hesitant for the team to make but never seems to actually materialize