Kieboom returns to majors with a bang

NEW YORK – The smile on his face was evident. As was the fist pump as he approached second base. What, though, really was going through Carter Kieboom’s mind during a trip around the bases two years in the making Tuesday night?

“Baseball’s crazy,” the Nationals third baseman said. “We’ve all seen some crazy stuff. And after everything, being two years removed, to have that be my first hit back, first swing … it’s special. It meant a lot to me. You really can’t make this stuff up.”

No, you really can’t. Because who would believe it?

After three failed attempts to prove himself in the majors from 2019-21, then Tommy John surgery in 2022, then a shoulder impingement and an oblique strain as he tried to return this season, Kieboom finally was back in the Nats lineup Tuesday night at Yankee Stadium. And then homered on his very first major league swing since the final day of the 2021 season.

It almost felt too contrived to be reality.

“He just came out of my office, and I told him I’m proud of him,” manager Davey Martinez said following the 2-1 victory over the Yankees. “He went down there and worked really hard to get back up here, and has a good first day. It’s not always easy when you get hurt and have to work your way back. He went through the process and did well.”

Once regarded as the organization’s top position player prospect, Kieboom made his major league debut on April 26, 2019, with a bang. His first career hit was a homer off the Padres’ Craig Stammen. Two nights later, he homered again, giving everyone reason to believe the 28th overall pick of the 2016 was going to become the Nationals’ next great homegrown star.

Those first few days in D.C., though, might well have represented the high point of Kieboom’s career. He couldn’t hit with any consistency after that and looked lost at shortstop, ultimately prompting a position switch to third base the following year.

That didn’t help. All but anointed the club’s replacement for Anthony Rendon, Kieboom didn’t look ready to be an everyday big leaguer during the abbreviated 2020 season. And during the 62 games he played in the majors in 2021, he offered little reason to believe anything had changed.

Throw in a lost 2022 season because of the Tommy John surgery, then two more injuries this season that slowed his return even further, and Kieboom was something of a forgotten soul within the organization.

But with no current long-term answer at third base at the big league level – 2021 first-round pick Brady House is currently at Double-A Harrisburg, not to mention still only 20 – the Nationals decided to give Kieboom one more shot. Martinez had him in Tuesday’s lineup, batting ninth, and the manager suggested he’ll be the regular at third base when the team is facing an opposing left-hander.

“It almost felt like a debut,” he said. “But a debut where I felt like I belonged, and I felt like I was comfortable. I had a real game plan I could stick to the whole time. In the past, sometimes I’d get away from myself. But today, I’ve had a year and a half to really think about what I want to do in the box and stick with it. It made it a lot easier for me today.”

Kieboom isn’t afraid to admit now he put too much pressure on himself during his previous stints in D.C. He was supposed to be Rendon’s replacement. He was supposed to be teammates with Ryan Zimmerman, Juan Soto, Trea Turner, Max Scherzer, Stephen Strasburg and others, the new kid on the block.

It didn’t work. This time around, he insists he’s not putting any pressure on himself. And instead of walking into a clubhouse loaded with big-name stars, most of the Nationals are already close in age to Kieboom, some of them even younger than him.

“You just feel a part of it,” he said. “The day I walked in, I was excited to see everybody. They welcomed me with open arms. Just to be around a group of guys that’s in a similar situation … I think everybody in this room is extremely hungry and wants to win. It’s nice to all be on the same boat.”