The Nationals officially placed Drew Millas on the 10-day injured list with a fractured and dislocated left index finger (retroactive to Aug. 28) and selected the contract of catcher C.J. Stubbs from Triple-A Rochester this afternoon. Millas underwent successful surgery today to stabilize the fracture and repair the joint on his finger.

“I feel bad for him. It was sad,” said interim manager Miguel Cairo during his pregame media session ahead of Friday’s series opener against the Rays. “He was doing so good and he's one of the future of the team, catcher. And he was doing good hitting and catching and everything. So the surgery went well today. Hopefully we'll get to see him tomorrow, over here. He's gonna come in. But everything went well. They did some stuff with the fracture, but everything went well today.”

Millas hurt his finger when he was called for catcher’s interference in the third inning Wednesday during an Austin Wells at-bat, when the Yankees catcher’s bat made contact with the Nats backstop’s catching hand while swinging at a 97 mph fastball from Cade Cavalli. Following surgery, Millas is expected to be done for the rest of the season, but ready for spring training next year.

He finishes the season hitting .306 with five doubles, a triple, seven RBIs, two stolen bases and four walks in 18 games. The 27-year-old threw out 2-of-8 would-be basestealers.

To replace him, the Nationals chose Stubbs over Francisco Mejía and Brady Lindsly at Rochester. The 28-year-old catcher signed a minor league deal with the Nationals after the Astros released him in May 2024. He hit .161 with a .602 OPS, three doubles, a triple, a homer and five RBIs in 24 games with the Red Wings this year following a promotion from Double-A Harrisburg.

In 22 games behind the dish with the Red Wings, Stubbs has thrown out 15-of-39 (38.5 percent) of would-be basestealers.

“He was doing good. He's a good catcher, a good thrower, a good blocker,” Cairo said. “I think he's been in this organization for a long time, and we just wanted to give a shot to him. He knows our pitchers. We got a lot of young pitchers. And I think it was the best decision to bring him.”

Stubbs will mainly serve as a backup to Riley Adams, with a couple of factors playing a role in his potential playing time.

Assuming he remains healthy, Adams could play behind the plate into next week. The Nats’ schedule is favorable with different game times to allow him to get the proper rest in between starts, with a 4 p.m. game Saturday, a 1:35 p.m. game Sunday, a 1 p.m. game Monday for Labor Day and a 6:45 p.m. game Tuesday. Stubbs’ first game action could come in Wednesday’s 1 p.m. start for a getaway day following a night game.

But Cairo also wants to make sure he is matched up well with a starting pitcher he is familiar with, like Cade Cavalli, Brad Lord or Mitchell Parker. If the Nats stay on rotation this homestand, Lord is scheduled to start Sunday, Cavalli on Tuesday and Parker again on Wednesday.

The Nats will also keep in mind the fact that rosters expand from 26 players to 28 on Monday, Sept. 1. Those two extra spots are usually reserved for an extra position player and relief pitcher, but they could theoretically use it to carry a third catcher.

“It depends how Riley feels, too,” Cairo said of the plan to play Stubbs. “Because we have a night game, four o'clock and one o'clock and one o'clock. So if he's feeling fine, he's going to catch. If not, I would put Stubby. But I'm going to put him with the best matchup, someone that he knows, and go from there.”

Whenever Stubbs plays, it’ll be his major league debut after six seasons in the minor leagues since being a 10th-round selection by the Astros in the 2019 MLB Draft out of the University of Southern California.

“I was definitely overwhelmed and shocked,” Stubbs said when he heard the news of his promotion. “I spent quite a few days in the minor leagues and got to the point where I wasn't sure if it was ever going to happen. And sometimes it doesn't happen the way you think it's going to happen, but however it does, I'm just so happy and humbled to be here.”

Another positive development in the catching department is Keibert Ruiz ramping up his baseball activity. Ruiz, out since July 8 with a concussion, took live batting practice on the field at Nationals Park this afternoon and will run the bases and catch bullpens tomorrow and throughout the weekend. The Nats expect him to go on a rehab assignment soon.

“Today we talked about it. Today he's going to hit, he's going to do everything. Tomorrow he's going to hit, he's going to run the bases. He's going to catch bullpens,” Cairo said. “This weekend, he's going to do a lot of baseball stuff. And we're going to decide when he, depending how he feels, we're going to decide when he's going to start his rehab assignment. … It’s coming soon.”

* Daylen Lile is back in the Nats lineup, batting sixth as the designated hitter, after missing the last four games with an illness.

The rookie outfielder is hitting .300 over his last 28 games, with multiple hits in 11 of those outings. He’s also reached base safely in 40 of his last 48 games.

“He's playing, he's fine,” Cairo said. “He was fine on (Wednesday), but we just wanted to make sure he was fine completely. We just had another day off. But I miss him in the lineup. He's a big part of the lineup, and I really missed him those three days in New York. He's one of the most improved hitters that we have in our team since he went back to Triple-A and came back. I gotta tell you, he's got a great future ahead of him. He can hit, he can get good at-bats. He doesn't give at-bats away. That's who you're looking for everyone in the team. Don't give at-bats away.”

* Josiah Gray threw a live BP session (30 pitches/two ups) on Wednesday and his next bullpen was scheduled for today. The right-hander is on the long road back from Tommy John surgery.

* On the farm, Elijah Green has a Grade 3 right hamstring strain and Cristhian Vaquero has a left elbow dislocation. Both are expected to miss the rest of the season at Single-A Fredericksburg. Vaquero ended the season last year with a right shoulder injury.