MIAMI — Washington catcher Riley Adams was removed from Tuesday night’s game against the Marlins in the bottom of the second inning after being hit in the groin area by a foul ball.
Adams immediately went to the ground after being hit by the ricochet off Eric Wagaman’s bat, which first deflected off his glove. He remained there for some time before eventually getting to his feet, but he was then replaced by Jorge Alfaro.
The play comes three years and one day after starting catcher Keibert Ruiz’s groin injury that forced him to be hospitalized with a testicular contusion. Ruiz missed the remainder of the 2022 season due to the injury.
Ruiz is currently on the injured list with a concussion. He last played in the big leagues July 5 against Boston but he began a rehab stint with Double-A Harrisburg on Sept. 2. But Ruiz was pulled from his assignment after being hit with a foul ball on Thursday, and experiencing headaches in the days that followed.
Ruiz traveled with the Nationals to Miami for further testing and rehab, but his timetable for return remains undetermined.
“We just want to make sure he’s healthy,” interim manager Miguel Cairo before Tuesday’s game. “That’s the bottom line when it comes to the brain. Your head is delicate, and you just want to make sure he’s healthy.”
Ruiz, who spoke with reporters pregame, said he’s not sure when — or if — he’ll return this season.
“It’s really frustrating,” he said. “Been dealing with this for two months. … Just trusting in God that everything’s gonna be alright soon.
“I got hit on Thursday, and then I kept catching two more innings. Everything was OK. … [The] next day, I started feeling the headaches. … It was the same Sunday. Right now, we’re just going one day at a time. I came here to see that doctor and the trainer and … get better.”
With Drew Millas on the 60-day IL due to a finger injury, Adams and Alfaro are the only active catchers on the Nats’ roster. Should Adams be forced to miss time, it could force the squad to pluck additional backstops from the Minors.
