Keibert Lewis acquired by the Nationals in the Max Scherzer and Trey Turner trade dodgers When Washington offered him last spring at the 2021 trade deadline, he jumped at the chance to sign a long-term extension with Washington.
“I said ‘yes’ right away!” the 25-year-old catcher told reporters at a press conference announcing his long-term contract, which ends in March 2023.
“But I waited a while,” Lewis laughed. “And I’m just happy in this moment and everything. I just have to move forward and keep working hard.”
The Nationals, who quickly anointed the No. 1 backstop in Washington, D.C. after acquiring him, threw the young backstop into the proverbial fire, returning him to the majors just a month after the deadline. I let it happen.
He debuted with Los Angeles in 2020 at the age of 22, appeared in six games in early ’21, then appeared in 23 games late that year and was traded a few months later.
“We developed him early in his career,” Nationals GM and President of Baseball Operations Mike Rizzo told reporters at the press conference announcing the contract extension.
Photo by Todd Kirkland/Getty Images
“He was thrown into a situation with a strange city, a strange organization, a strange pitching staff, and I think he handled himself amazingly last year,” the GM said. “I think he came into spring training this winter and this offseason, even before we started talking about any type of extension or anything like that, in more of a leadership mode, and because of that I was like, who is who? “We want to lock in these positions and build the team around this team.” And when you get the generals of this team, the catchers and the middle guys, I think it’s important that they grow into leadership roles. And Keibert understands that too. ”
“He’s starting to become that guy that he was back then,” coach Davey Martinez told reporters early in the 2023 season. But I love what he’s doing now.
“He’s in charge over there and me and I’m leading things.” [Catching and Strategy Coach] henry [Blanco] “I told him, “You have to feel like you’re the captain there, you have to be in control sometimes,” and he did a good job with that. ”
Martinez was asked how the relatively soft-spoken receiver handles his responsibilities as a leader.
“He doesn’t speak loudly, he speaks very softly, but when he speaks, he has intention and when he feels like speaking, he speaks,” the captain said.
Lewis finished his first full season in the majors in 2022 with a .251/.313/.360 line, 22 doubles, seven home runs, 30 walks, and 50 Ks in 112 games and 433 at-bats, with a 1.8 GPA. there were. fWAR.
Behind the plate, he posted a batting average of .992 fld%, a CS% of 28%, and threw out 20 out of 71 potential base stealers.
Lewis struggled at the plate at the start of the 2023 campaign and on his new contract with D.C.
“We’re trying to get him to understand what he’s good at right now, and that’s getting the ball up into the zone,” Martinez said early last season.
The backstop posted a line of .226/.279/.360 with 11 doubles, nine home runs, 16 walks, and 28 Ks in 73 games and 305 PA.
![Los Angeles Dodgers v Washington Nationals](https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/ehYiwKCgEPWbiaSRqGC4xWeGTrE=/0x0:3600x2400/1200x0/filters:focal(0x0:3600x2400):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/25180574/1692712583.jpg)
Photo by Mitchell Leighton/Getty Images
“His pursuit percentage is still under 30 percent, which is really good,” Martinez said in early May, trying to explain why he was confident the catcher would get things going with his bat.
“Now we have to get him thinking about getting the ball up. He’s a much better hitter when the ball goes up. [in the zone].
“All the low balls tend to fall to the ground, so we’re trying to get him to hit the ball a little bit higher. So he has to start looking up. That’s the next step.
“When the ball goes up, he hits the ball really hard. So we had to get him to consistently go up the ball and stop chasing the ball down. And then one more time. One is the players on the bases and the technique of hitting. Understanding what he needs to do and what the pitcher is trying to do sometimes helps him get the pitch he wants better. You might have to work the count. But don’t go up there right away. I know you want to be aggressive, but don’t go up there right away and say, ‘Swing on the first pitch and drive in a run.’ Don’t say “I’ll see.” . ”
“No, hey, just be patient, wait for a good pitch to come, and when that pitch comes, try to make your best swing. It was something I had to work on.
“Because they want to go up there and be overly aggressive with the guys on base. And sometimes that first pitch isn’t always the best pitch, and the second pitch It could be a pitch.” But be prepared to hit, know who you are, what you’re hitting hard, and make sure you hit a good pitch.
“But I think his at-bats were good. Like I said before, I’ve been watching his swing, and he had quite a few lineouts, but he had nothing to show for it. There was no.”
“It’s hard to tell kids, ‘Don’t change anything’ when you’re not getting hits, because the pressure builds up, and we all want the ball to fall every time we swing, but not necessarily. That doesn’t mean it’s going to happen.” Just like that. ”
Defensively, Keibert struggled overall with eight passed balls (Increase from 4 people in 2022), had a yearly batting average of .991 fld% and 119 stolen bases in 140 attempts (CS% 15%).
![Miami Marlins v Washington Nationals](https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/4bF9dPg0dol6ZbPcoFLD26G2b74=/0x0:3600x2400/1200x0/filters:focal(0x0:3600x2400):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/25180578/1502965327.jpg)
Photo by Mitchell Leighton/Getty Images
[ed. note – “Acknowledgement here that bigger bases and new rules MLB put in place this past season probably (definitely?) played some role in the stark difference … but likely was not the whole story.”]
“Sometimes you try to go too fast,” Lewis said of the problems facing opposing teams (and the Nationals’ starters). Quoted by Washington Post reporter Andrew Golden Last July, after throwing just three of the first 52 runners attempting to steal bases.
“Even if they make a good jump, instead of trying to catch and throw, they try to do too much. If he’s safe, he’s safe. But that’s something I can’t control.”
Things picked up in the second half of 2023, with Lewis hitting a solid .300/.342/.467 with 13 doubles, nine home runs, 15 walks, and 30 Ks in 63 games and 257 PA. All-star break.
“He was great,” Martinez said of the turnaround for the catcher at the plate.
“He’s getting the ball in the strike zone, and when he does, he’s hitting the ball really hard. I’ve been saying this all year, he has great bat-to-ball skills. But you have to focus on getting the ball in the zone, and when you do that, the ball really comes off the bat hot.”
“He’s been playing well for both teams,” Martinez said in August.
“His defense was really good. He’s starting to swing the bat like we know it, so he’s been great.”
Martinez also pointed out that Ruiz has done a pretty good job of not letting his struggles at the plate affect the overall game.
“Definitely, it’s just learning the game and learning yourself,” the coach said.
“We talk about it all the time, like, ‘Hey, make the most of this moment.’ And he’s really good about that.”
How did Lewis stay consistent at the plate?
“He learned a lot,” Martinez said.
“His routine. Just going out there and playing and, like I said, just being in the moment, and he’s done a really good job. How well he handles our pitching staff as he bounces back. Indeed I’ve been impressed. I’ve asked him to do different things and we asked him to play DH. He’s a gamer, he wants to play, he plays every day. I want to do that, and I’m going to do my best to help us win.”
Martinez said some parts of his game are having an impact on other parts of Lewis’ overall consistency.
“Once he starts swinging the bat the way he swings, his game improves, it really does. So I’m happy for him. Like I said, he’s He’s going to be here for a long time. And he’s getting better.”
“He’s enthusiastic, he’s enthusiastic every game no matter what. He knows he has to differentiate between attacking and catching, he has to call the game and that’s the catcher’s job. .”
At the 2023 winter meetings earlier this month, general manager Mike Rizzo talked about the catcher’s defensive struggles and Lewis’ 23 season overall.
![Chicago White Sox v Washington Nationals](https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/-GK-ke1H4hpQ3Sz0RAQKb0w1gmc=/0x0:6397x4266/1200x0/filters:focal(0x0:6397x4266):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/25180584/1715659672.jpg)
Photo by Jess Rapfogel/Getty Images
“I think it’s a drop-off. He’s caught as many games as any player in the major leagues this year, so I think it’s a taxing position,” Rizzo began. “He’s mostly catching a group of young pitchers with little experience, so it’s a tough, abrasive position where you have to keep your finger on the pulse of the overall game, defensively, offensively and otherwise. “thing. He had a stretch defensively, he was great, but then the offense dropped off a little bit, and then when the offense got a little bit better, the defense may have dropped off a little bit, but we have some fundamentals. Something happened.He’s going to work on it, I think he’s going to get closer to home base, I think it’s going to help his framing, I think he’s working really hard with Henry. [Blanco] About the transfer glove handed to the second baseman and its accuracy.
“I think the good thing about him is that he doesn’t want to be good, he wants to be great, and I think that attitude helps him.”