Nationals' Keibert Ruiz hit in head in dugout by ball, gets terrible injury news

Billy Heyen

Nationals' Keibert Ruiz hit in head in dugout by ball, gets terrible injury news image

Keibert Ruiz was in the wrong place at the wrong time.

And because of it, the Washington Nationals catcher is injured.

Talk Nats reported on Tuesday that Ruiz is going to be placed on the seven-day concussion injured list.

Ruiz needed a head CT scan after he was hit by a foul ball in the head while in the Nationals dugout.

It's a brutal and ironic injury. Catchers get beat up all the time behind the plate, but they have the equipment to usually withstand it.

But this unlucky situation found Ruiz with a baseball to the head, and now he's out because of it.

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Ruiz, 26, broke out at the beginning of this season but had been colder of late.

Overall, he's batting .247, and his power hasn't shown up yet, with an OPS of just .598.

Ruiz is still the Nationals' top catcher, though, and losing him for any length of time is bad news.

The Nats would likely call up Drew Millas from Triple-A Rochester to fill the roster opening.

And they'll just have to hope that Ruiz heals quickly from an injury that can be notoriously difficult to predict as far as healing goes.

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Billy Heyen

Billy Heyen is a freelance writer with The Sporting News. He is a 2019 graduate of Syracuse University who has written about many sports and fantasy sports for The Sporting News. Sports reporting work has also appeared in a number of newspapers, including the Sandusky Register and Rochester Democrat & Chronicle