Keibert Ruiz was placed on the 10-day injured list with influenza after losing nearly 20 pounds, about 10% of his body weight. He completed a brief rehab assignment with Double-A Harrisburg, returned from the injured list, and then played three games in a row without rest. His manager emphasized daily monitoring, hydration, and maintaining strength for the demanding catcher role. Despite missing 13 games, Ruiz appeared in 127 games during the 2024 season, often sitting rarely early in the year. After a strong start, his performance declined following the flu. A later workload plan limited him to no more than two consecutive full games, and he appeared in 85.2% of games while on the roster.
"“He was pretty sick, and he lost a lot of weight,” former-manager Dave Martinez said before Ruiz's return to play from the flu. “We'll keep an eye on him and make sure he's feeling good every day. But he's excited to be back. I think it would be kind of hard [to regain all of his weight] because he's a catcher, and he sweats a lot - a lot, a lot, but my big thing is his strength. I just want to make sure he's hydrated and that we keep a really close eye on him because it is a demanding job to go out there and catch every day, nine innings.”"
"He played in 127 games in that 2024 season even after missing 13 games with the flu. In the first eight games of the season, he only sat one game. When you go back and think about Ruiz's good start to the 2024 season, even before he got the flu, he started strong, and was shoved hard, and his season went straight down from that first week when he had a .783 OPS."
"The new Washington Nationals' plan has been to play Ruiz no more than two consecutive full games. The theory is you get less with more - and it is now working that way. In 2024, Ruiz played in 85.2 percent of the games when he was on the roster, which is crazy for a catcher. And you wonder why he finished the season with a c"
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