PLAYER REVIEW: RILEY ADAMS
Age on Opening Day 2026: 29
How acquired: Acquired from Blue Jays for Brad Hand, July 2021
MLB service time: 3 years, 171 days
2025 salary: $850,000
Contract status: Arbitration-eligible, free agent in 2029
2025 stats: 83 G, 286 PA, 263 AB, 29 R, 49 H, 8 2B, 0 3B, 8 HR, 24 RBI, 1 SB, 0 CS, 18 BB, 110 SO, .186 AVG, .252 OBP, .308 SLG, .560 OPS, 59 OPS+, -4 DRS, 0.5 bWAR, -0.6 fWAR
Quotable: “Obviously, the more I’m able to get back there, the better I feel like I can be on time and get into a rhythm out there. I’m just going to try to keep going with that.” – Riley Adams
2025 analysis: For the fourth consecutive year, Adams entered the season as Keibert Ruiz’s primary backup behind the plate. That meant minimal playing time, especially early on: He started only 17 of the Nationals’ first 79 games. Not that he did much when he did play to merit more at-bats: His slash line on June 23 was a dismal .097/.125/.258, with only one walk drawn and 28 strikeouts in 64 plate appearances.
But when Ruiz suffered a concussion that night on an errant foul ball in San Diego, Adams was thrust into the No. 1 catching job, and not just in the short term. He wound up starting 56 of the Nats’ final 83 games, by far the most consistent playing time he’s ever received in the big leagues.
Regular at-bats clearly made a difference for Adams … for a while. Over a 38-game stretch from late June through mid-August, he slashed .268/.340/.425, with five homers and 14 RBIs. But he cooled off considerably after that, and over his final 21 games slashed a mere .118/.200/.132 with zero homers and only two RBIs.
Adams’ biggest strides this season came behind the plate. He became both a stronger and more accurate thrower, with a 28.8 percent caught-stealing rate that was a full 20 points better than it was in 2024. Pitchers and coaches also lauded his game-calling skills, though he continued to rank near the bottom of the league in pitch framing.
2026 outlook: It has long been a valid question: Would Adams be more productive if he got a chance to play more? And we did sort of get the answer this season, because his offensive numbers absolutely improved once he became the Nationals’ No. 1 catcher. But that production lasted only a couple of months, and his late-season slump was real disappointing for anyone who hoped he might have laid the groundwork for a more prominent role in the future.
If he could hit like he did during those two summer months over a full six months, Adams could be a viable option for a split catching arrangement in 2026. But he has to figure out how to make contact on a more regular basis. He actually has well-above-average bat speed and average exit velocity. But his whiff rate is near the bottom of the league, especially on breaking balls (41.9 percent). He chased out of the zone 30.5 percent of the time this season and made contact on only 39.3 percent of those pitches.
Defensively, Adams deserves credit for his significant improvement in stopping the running game. He was easily the team’s best catcher in that regard. His pitch framing remains a concern, though perhaps less of a concern with the introduction of the Automated Ball-Strike (ABS) challenge system in 2026.
Ultimately, Adams’ fate may be tied to whatever happens with Ruiz. If the team’s preferred long-term catcher can return from his concussion, there’s perhaps a better case for the two to split the job next season. But if Ruiz isn’t cleared to return, or if the Nationals don’t believe he’s a viable long-term solution anymore, they would have no choice but to pursue a more established No. 1 catcher from outside the organization, which could bump Adams back into a clear backup role or perhaps even leave him a candidate to be non-tendered this winter.