It Sounds Like Nationals Fans Will Be Underwhelmed by Catching Situation in 2026

Washington Nationals fans likely won't enjoy this.

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Coming into the offseason, there was some thought that the catching position could be towards the top of targets for the Washington Nationals.

Keibert Ruiz was disappointing again and is now dealing with concerning concussion issues. Riley Adams slashed .186/.252/.308 with an OPS+ that was 41 points below the league average of 100 in an expanded role. And Drew Millas is still a question mark despite him flashing some good things at the plate during his limited action.

All of that lent itself to the idea that the Nationals could be shopping for a new catcher this winter. Whether that was adding a fresh option in the upcoming Rule 5 Draft, signing someone in free agency or making a trade, all avenues to upgrade that position seemed to be on the table.

However, that no longer seems to be the case.

Nationals Poised to Have Same Catching Unit in 2026

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New president of baseball operations Paul Toboni surprised many people when he tendered contracts to all arbitration-eligible players ahead of the deadline. Someone who was part of that group was Adams.

Washington and Adams have already agreed to a contract for the 2026 campaign, though the terms aren't known at the time of writing. So that at least suggests the Nationals will have one part of their duo back next year, as they see how Ruiz progresses throughout the offseason.

Because of that, Mark Zuckerman of MASN believes the Nationals are going to be content with that catching group heading into next year, with him writing, "In retaining Adams, though, the Nats seem to be saying they intend to enter 2026 with their catching corps intact. Ruiz will remain the starter, with Adams backing him up and Drew Millas (who still has a minor league option) likely returning to Triple-A Rochester and on-call whenever needed."

Nationals fans likely won't enjoy hearing that. Ruiz has been a major bust since signing his long-term extension back in March of 2023. He's failed to record an OPS+ over the league average of 100 in the three years since, and he's gotten progressively worse at the plate each season.

Nationals, Keibert Ruiz Agree To Extension https://t.co/L2P3oUolp1 pic.twitter.com/WwAsdUnwEO

— MLB Trade Rumors (@mlbtraderumors) March 11, 2023

There is major pressure on him to bounce back in 2026, and it's not clear if he's capable of doing that. The former highly-regarded prospect hasn't panned out the way anyone envisioned in the nation's capital, and that's without seriously considering the chances he's unable to catch going forward due to his concussion issues.

If Ruiz does struggle or gets hurt again, then Adams would be vaulted into a more prominent role again, which doesn't bode well for Washington since they had the least productive catching unit in 2025 when that same exact scenario took place.

That's why fans were hoping to see some exterior moves when it came to adding another backstop. Perhaps that could still happen and Zuckerman's prediction will turn out wrong. But based on how things look, it seems like the Nationals are set to enter 2026 with their same exact catching setup they had this past season.