Keibert Ruiz Bio
Keibert Jose Ruiz (born July 20, 1998) is a Venezuelan professional baseball catcher for the Washington Nationals of Major League Baseball (MLB). He previously played in MLB for the Los Angeles Dodgers and won a World Series Championship with the organization in 2020.
A switch-hitting catcher known for his bat, Ruiz signed with the Dodgers as an international free agent in 2014 and rose steadily through their farm system. In 2021 he was traded to the Washington Nationals, and in March 2023 he signed an eight-year contract extension reportedly worth $50 million that runs through the 2030 season.
Early Life and Background
Keibert Jose Ruiz was born on July 20, 1998, in Venezuela. He grew up in a supportive family with his father, Jose, and mother, Leidys, who raised him in a baseball-loving culture. From an early age, Ruiz showed the receiving skills and hitting instincts that eventually drew attention from international scouts.
His parents remained in Venezuela while he pursued his professional career abroad, a separation that shaped his early years in the sport. Because of repeated visa denials, Jose and Leidys had not seen their son play in a game since he was a teenager in the Dominican Summer League in 2015, and they had never attended a major league game of his.
Path to Major League Baseball
Ruiz was signed by the Los Angeles Dodgers as an international free agent in 2014 for $140,000 and made his professional debut the following year. In 2015 he played for the Dominican Summer League Dodgers, batting .300 with one home run, 19 RBIs, and eight doubles in 44 games. The strong start confirmed that his bat could profile behind the plate.
In 2016 he split time between the Arizona League Dodgers and the Ogden Raptors, posting a combined .374 batting average with two home runs, 48 RBIs, a .412 on-base percentage, and a .939 on-base plus slugging in 56 games. By 2017, the Dodgers had him at Great Lakes and then promoted him to the Rancho Cucamonga Quakes, where he earned the organization’s Minor League Player of the Year honors after batting .316 with eight home runs and 51 RBIs across 101 games.
Keibert Ruiz Career
Early Career (2015–2018)
Ruiz spent 2018 with the Double-A Tulsa Drillers and was selected to represent the team at the mid-season Texas League All-Star Game. He also represented the organization at the All-Star Futures Game and the Arizona Fall League Fall Stars Game, finishing the year with a .268 average, 12 home runs, and 47 RBIs across 101 games. After the season, the Dodgers added him to their 40-man roster, signaling that he was on the fast track to the majors.
He began 2019 back at Tulsa and earned another Texas League mid-season All-Star selection before a July promotion to the Triple-A Oklahoma City Dodgers. A broken finger in early August ended his season early, but his overall production across the two levels, including six homers and 34 RBIs in 85 games, kept him firmly in the Dodgers’ long-term plans.
Los Angeles Dodgers Era (2020–2021)
Ruiz was called up to the majors for the first time on August 15, 2020, and made his MLB debut the following day as the starting catcher against the Los Angeles Angels. He hit a home run in his first at-bat, off Julio Teherán, an early signature moment of his big-league career. He appeared in only two games during the pandemic-shortened 2020 season, finishing with two hits in eight at-bats, but he was part of the Dodgers roster for the 2020 National League Wild Card Series as they went on to win the World Series.
In 2021, Ruiz appeared in six games for the Dodgers and recorded one hit, a home run, in seven at-bats, while spending most of the year at Triple-A Oklahoma City, where he hit .311 with 16 home runs and 45 RBIs in 52 games. On July 30, 2021, the Dodgers traded Ruiz, Josiah Gray, Donovan Casey, and Gerardo Carrillo to the Washington Nationals in exchange for Trea Turner and Max Scherzer.
Washington Nationals Era (2021–Present)
After the trade, Ruiz homered in his organization debut on August 3, 2021, for the Triple-A Rochester Red Wings, and was called back up to the majors on August 30. He went 1-for-4 in his Nationals debut against the Philadelphia Phillies and finished the 2021 season with a combined .272/.333/.409 slash line, three home runs, and 96 plate appearances between the Dodgers and Nationals.
On March 11, 2023, the Nationals announced that Ruiz had signed an eight-year contract extension reportedly worth $50 million. The deal covered his final five seasons of club control and the first three years of free agency, running through the 2030 season and including one-year club options for 2031 and 2032. The extension cemented him as the franchise’s catcher of the present and the near future.
Driving Style and Strengths
Ruiz is a switch-hitting catcher whose bat has long been his carrying tool, and he combines a patient approach at the plate with the ability to drive the ball to all fields. Behind the plate, he has developed into a serviceable receiver, and his role on the 2020 Dodgers roster highlighted the organization’s trust in his game-calling.
Notable Events and Milestones
His most memorable early milestone came on August 16, 2020, when he hit a home run in his first major league at-bat against Julio Teherán of the Angels. He is also a 2020 World Series Champion with the Los Angeles Dodgers, having been on the roster for the National League Wild Card Series during that championship run.
Keibert Ruiz Career Wins
Ruiz’s career is still in its early chapters, so his win totals sit alongside individual offensive accomplishments. Across the minors and majors, his most celebrated victories have been team championships and personal firsts, from a Minor League Player of the Year award to a World Series ring and a memorable first big-league at-bat.
Los Angeles Dodgers Highlights
Ruiz was part of the Dodgers’ 2020 World Series Championship after debuting that August and homering in his first at-bat. He also earned the organization’s Minor League Player of the Year award in 2017 after batting .316 with eight home runs and 51 RBIs across two Single-A levels.
Washington Nationals Highlights
Since joining Washington, Ruiz has logged his first extended major league playing time and hit his first home run as a member of the organization on August 3, 2021, with Triple-A Rochester. He also secured a long-term contract in 2023, an off-field win that locked in his place as the team’s everyday catcher through 2030.
Keibert Ruiz Family
Family Background and Baseball Lineage
Ruiz was raised in Venezuela by his father, Jose, and his mother, Leidys. Both parents have been central to his story, and as of 2025, after years of visa denials, they were finally able to attend one of his major league games in person.
On May 22, 2025, Jose and Leidys were in the stands at Nationals Park in Washington, D.C., and Ruiz went 2-for-5 with a double and two RBIs while applying the game-saving tag at home plate in the top of the ninth inning. The Nationals walked off the Atlanta Braves to win their fifth straight game, and the day carried extra emotion because Jose Ruiz’s sister had died in Venezuela that same morning.
Personal Life
Ruiz is married to his wife, Ryena, and the couple has a son named Keibert Jr. As of May 2025, the family also welcomed a baby daughter. Despite spending most of his adult life in the United States, Ruiz has remained closely connected to his Venezuelan roots and his immediate family.
2025 Season Performance
The 2025 season has carried a strong emotional storyline for Keibert Ruiz and the Washington Nationals. A standout moment came on May 22, 2025, when his parents attended their first major league game of his career and watched him deliver a 2-for-5 performance with a double, two RBIs, and a game-saving tag at home plate to beat the Atlanta Braves. The win was Washington’s fifth in a row, a streak that helped define the team’s early-season momentum.
Through that stretch, Ruiz has continued to serve as the Nationals’ primary catcher and a key run-producer in the middle of the lineup. His combination of switch-hitting patience and reliability behind the plate has made him a focal point of a young Washington roster still building around its long-term core.
Looking ahead, Ruiz is signed through the 2030 season under the eight-year extension he signed in March 2023. The security of that deal, paired with his continued production, gives the Nationals a steady everyday backstop to build around as the franchise works its way back into contention.