Ruiz lands on IL after getting hit in head by foul ball

SAN DIEGO -- Nationals starting catcher Keibert Ruiz was diagnosed with a head contusion and placed on the 10-day injured list on Tuesday following a scary incident in the visitor’s dugout at Petco Park on Monday night.

Ruiz was struck on the right side of his head by an 82.4 mph foul ball hit by Josh Bell that ricocheted in the dugout during the fourth inning. A CT scan came back negative for a concussion or fracture.

On Tuesday, Ruiz said he didn’t “feel normal.” He experienced dizziness when he walked from the hotel to the ballpark, and he has had a headache.

"I don’t feel a hundred percent, and I don’t feel good to catch today,” Ruiz said. “If I got another foul ball in my head, I don’t think that would be good. I’ve got two kids that need me, and I’ve got to take care of my health."

Ruiz was not wearing his catcher’s gear and helmet because he was due up three batters later. He immediately left the dugout with head athletic trainer Paul Lessard and underwent testing off-site.

"I turned my head to the right to see the ball, and when I turned right away, it hit me right there,” Ruiz said. “After that, it felt like black -- I can't even talk for a couple of seconds. After that, it was still a headache."

The Nationals tabbed backup catcher Riley Adams, who replaced Ruiz for the remainder of Monday’s game, to start Tuesday. They also recalled catcher Drew Millas from Triple-A Rochester in a corresponding roster move.

“The CT came back negative, which was great,” said manager Dave Martinez. “I spoke to him earlier today. He said he had a headache, it didn’t go away. … He said the pounding of him just walking bothered him a little bit. So that gave us a little bit of concern. So we’d rather be safe than sorry.”

The early plan was for Ruiz to try to ride the exercise bike and see how he felt after that.

"I think life is more important than other things,” Ruiz said. “Obviously, this is really important but I've got to take care of my health. If it's another part of my body, it's OK. But it's in the head, and I've got to take it seriously."

Adams was prepared when his name was called in a pinch. He has worked in tandem with Ruiz since 2021 and is lauded for being studious. Adams will look to also find rhythm at the plate with consistent at-bats. He entered Tuesday batting .097 in 22 games this season.

“We have to get him to stop chasing,” said Martinez. “He’s got tremendous bat speed [79.3 mph]. When the ball’s in the zone, he’s got a really good chance to hit it not only hard, but far. So the key is for him to get in a good count to hit and be ready to hit.”

Millas rejoins the Nationals with 31 games of Major League experience over the past two seasons. This year, the switch-hitting Millas has batted .247 in 52 games with Rochester. He has a deep familiarity with the majority of the Nationals’ bullpen from being teammates in the Minor Leagues.

“He’s been swinging the bat better, especially left-handed, which is good,” Martinez said. “But he’s been catching a lot better. He’s thrown out some runners. We’ve always known that he calls a pretty good game, and he’s very aware of what he wants to do. So he gets a chance to come up here and do it up here for us.”

Millas was notified about the callup around 11:30 p.m. ET. He went to the ballpark at midnight to pack up his gear, where he was met by Red Wings manager Matthew LeCroy. After a short sleep, Millas woke up around 3:45 a.m., was driven to the airport by his wife, and took a 5:30 a.m. ET flight from Rochester with a layover at JFK Airport. Millas arrived in San Diego around 11:20 a.m. PT.

“The whole scenario was just unfortunate, to say the least,” Millas said of Ruiz’s injury. “That’s a freak incident, and you don’t wish that on anybody, obviously.”