3 players Nationals fans are losing patience with after two months of 2025 season

The Nationals have forgotten how to hit again. Tuesday night's game was the first time they scored more than three runs in a game so far this month, and then they were shut out for the second time in four games on Wednesday.

Once again, this is beginning to put a few hitters under the microscope. Despite his two hits in Wednesday's game, James Wood is pretty ice cold right now, and so was CJ Abrams until Tuesday. However, they don't fall into the category of being on the hot seat like the following trio of players.

Candidly, most of the lineup is in a bit of a funk right now. However, these three players stand out above the rest.

Keibert Ruiz

The young catcher continues to be an enigma, and the clock may now be ticking. Since the calendar flipped to June, Ruiz has been caught up in a 1-for-23 skid. He hasn't seen much success since the very early stages of the season, and still hasn't hit a home run since March. And of course, his play behind the plate also continues to leave a lot to be desired.

For the first time in a long time, this slump is beginning to cut into Ruiz's playing time. Whereas Ruiz was playing at a higher rate than most catchers in the league, four of the last eight games have been started by Riley Adams behind the plate. That's not a product of Adams playing any better, either.

Frankly, the Nationals seem stuck at catcher. The eight-year, $50 million contract extension he signed in 2023 is team-friendly enough that it can't sink you, yet it's also too much money for a team to feel great about benching the player or moving on from him.

I'll be curious to see if Washington makes a move at this position. There's a lot of internet speculation about Harry Ford, Seattle's No. 5 prospect per MLB Pipeline, who is tearing up the Pacific Coast League but is stuck behind Cal Raleigh - one of the best catchers in the majors - at the big league level.

Josh Bell

Whereas Nathaniel Lowe has started to hit again to some degree, Bell has reverted back to the player he has been for most of the season. After a brief hot streak to close the month of May, he's in the midst of a 4-for-28 stretch to begin June.

In part as a result of these struggles, manager Davey Martinez lashed out about the team's poor approach and lack of production at the plate. The big move that night was the team optioning Nasim Nunez to Triple-A and recalling Andres Chaparro - a potential platoon partner for Bell.

This aside, it's tough to know how the team feels about Bell and what his future may hold. Chaparro himself - who was dominating Triple-A in his short stint there, after rehabbing from a Spring Training injury - has only reached base once in his six plate appearances since returning to the big leagues.

It's no secret that Bell is a locker room leader and a great advocate off the field. But unfortunately, it looks like his time is nearing its end in Washington - and not because he'll be flipped for a young asset at the Trade Deadline.

Robert Hassell III

"Bobby Barrels" went 12-for-35 from May 28 through June 5, including a hot 8-for-20 stretch and his first major league home run over the last four days of May. For anyone who believed in Hassell as a long-term piece of the rebuild, there were beginning to be a lot of reasons to feel vindicated.

Much like Ruiz and Bell, the young outfielder has hit the skids since then. He's hitting 1-for-14 since June 6 and has struck out seven times in 11 plate appearances over his last three games. We've also begun to see some inconsistency on the defensive side, as well. He's not a finished product and has plenty of time to perfect his craft, but it's becoming clear that he isn't ready to stick as a big league mainstay.

Suddenly, a recent question du jour has returned to the forefront. Despite his lack of propensity for drawing walks and moderate strikeout rate, Daylen Lile was reasonably productive during his two-week debut at the big league level and played with a refreshing tempo and sense of urgency. Is there a case to be made that he should've stayed in Washington, with Hassell sent back to Rochester instead?

What should the Nationals do to address the struggles of this trio of hitters, along with other hitters like Nathaniel Lowe and Jose Tena? Let me know your thoughts @stephen_newman1 on X.

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