The Nationals have declined their 2024 club option on Victor Robles, but that doesn’t necessarily mean an end to the outfielder’s time with the organization.

In choosing not to pick up their $3.3 million option for Robles, the Nats still retain control of the player, who has accrued only five years and 33 days of big league service time. That makes him eligible for arbitration once again this winter before he can finally become a free agent.

The Nationals and Robles could negotiate and agree to terms on a 2024 salary, one that most likely would be worth more than the $2.325 million he made this year but less than the $3.3 million option they agreed last offseason. If they can’t come to terms by January, they could file competing figures for arbitration and await the ruling of a three-judge panel.

Or, the Nats still could decide to cut ties with Robles and not tender him a contract before the league-wide Nov. 17 deadline, making him a free agent now.

It’s not entirely clear which direction the team will go after another disappointing season from Robles, though this time for different reasons from the past.

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. – Keibert Ruiz reported for his second spring training with the Nationals early last month, focused on making significant improvements to his game both at and behind the plate. The thought of leaving town at the end of camp with an eight-year, $50 million extension never crossed his mind.

And what was his first reaction upon getting the offer from the team?

“My first? I said yes right away!” Ruiz said this afternoon as everyone who assembled for a press conference at The Ballpark of the Palm Beaches laughed. “But we waited a little bit.”

Whether he said it right away or days later, the fact Ruiz said yes at all made this one of the most significant moments in Nationals history. After years spent trying to convince young star players to agree to extensions, this 24-year-old catcher became the first to actually commit to the organization long-term at such an early stage of his career.

Ruiz, who wouldn’t have been eligible for arbitration until 2025 or free agency until 2028, now knows he’s going to be a National through at least the 2030 season. And he could be here even longer than that, because the new contract includes club options for both 2031 and 2032.

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. – The Nationals will announce an eight-year, $50 million extension with Keibert Ruiz on Saturday afternoon, a source familiar with the terms confirmed this evening, a move that not only locks up the young franchise catcher but represents the first financial commitment of this type by ownership since it began exploring the possibility of selling the club one year ago.

The deal, which was first reported by Wow Deportes, locks Ruiz up long before he would’ve become a free agent. He was under club control five more seasons, so this buys out those years plus three years of free agency, keeping him in Washington through at least 2030.

It’s the first time the Nationals have been able to convince a young player to sign an extension of this type since Gio González agreed to a five-year, $42 million deal immediately after he was acquired from the Athletics via trade in December 2011. The only other player in club history to sign a comparable extension was Ryan Zimmerman, who signed a five-year, $45 million deal in April 2009.

Both González and Zimmerman were already arbitration-eligible at the times of their respective extensions. Ruiz is the first player in Nationals history to agree to this type of deal before reaching arbitration.

One of the two centerpieces (along with right-hander Josiah Gray) of the blockbuster July 2021 trade that sent franchise icons Max Scherzer and Trea Turner to the Dodgers, Ruiz impressed in his first full major league season, batting .251 with 22 doubles, seven homers and a .673 OPS while throwing out 22 baserunners, second-most among all MLB catchers.